HONG KONG.- Over The Influence gallery is presenting the largest solo exhibition of Nobuyoshi Araki in Hong Kong. Curated by Hisako Motoo, the show features over 70 photographs including more than 50 works from Araki’s acclaimed ‘Last by Leica’ series and 20 polaroids. The landmark exhibition of one of the world’s most important post-war Japanese photographers, runs from 18 May – 30 June 2017.

‘Last by Leica’ is an ongoing project started in 2012, through which Nobuyoshi Araki documents his life, artistic work and photographic practice in the form of a visual diary. The series embodies a dual significance, all the works were captured by his Leica M7, the last analogue camera from the manufacturer, and marks the final episode of his Leica series after the success of ‘Life by Leica’ which he began in the 1980s and continued in 2000 with ‘Love by Leica’. Underlying the daring eroticism for which the artist is celebrated, ‘Last by Leica’ presents a touch of darkness and sorrow in capturing the minutiae of everyday life. Through a poetic lens that draws expression from Araki’s personal experiences, the photographer delves into existential questions of physicality and sexuality, exploring fragmentary identities and society’s cult of beauty. The exhibited artworks depict daily objects, manikins, human figures, and ordinary people, many marked by an undeniable melancholic aesthetic that belies a sentimental journey for Araki.

Accompanying ‘Last by Leica’, 20 recent polaroids produced by a Polaroid 600 camera using The Impossible Projects’s Black & Red 600 Douchrome film will also be exhibited. A frequent medium used by Araki, these instant film shots present unexpected outcomes that provide the artist with sustained interest and excitement. For Araki, unexposed images and even leakgae of the developer paste can be likened to an artistic awakening, much like religious encounters.

Over The Influence welcomes Hisako Motoo, an independent curator and editor, to curate the exhibition. Motoo has been curating and publishing numerous important exhibitions and books for Japanese photography masters including Nobuyoshi Araki, and Daido Moriyama.

Nobuyoshi Araki was born in Minowa, Tokyo, in 1940. He launched his artistic career in 1964 with photographs of children in the city; after which Araki photographed his own honeymoon. These photographs were published in the volume Sentimental Journey, which has acquired legendary status today. During the 1970s, Araki gradually left behind press and journalistic photography and started to explore the existential questions of human life, turning increasingly towards erotic themes. In his photographs, he developed a unique visual aesthetic, creating a poetic portrayal of human passion that surpasses national and geographical boundaries. As a forefather of Japanese post-war photography, Araki invented the concept of the photographic ego, signifying the intriguing interplay between fiction, fact and desire. During this time, he also began to publish his photographs in Garo, the avant-garde manga magazine and Shashin Jidai.

Today, Araki is globally recognised as a representative of the genre of erotic photography, and is widely celebrated for his candid documentary and artistic images. Araki has published almost 500 books – considering this to be the most important form of presentation for photography.