No, there is no way to deny the violence of the images. There is plenty to see for those interested in “Araki-pioneered” photography. We are seized by the powerful beauty of these images and also made uncomfortable. He explores an artistic territory which he didn’t entirely invent. Because in his series “Tokyo Lucky Hole” and the resulting book, Araki does not fabricate a reality, one of commercial sex or of hastily made pornography in a bar or hotel room. He sees it, he inventories it, he experiments with it to speak about the matter.
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