shashasha

Inanimate objects, vibrant colors, plastic toys and lucent snapshots of his social encounters act as reference to the post-war commercialism and disposable nature unmistakably tied to contemporary Japanese society. As his images stand as an unmistakable reference to the city in which he has called home for the past 74 years, Araki's Insert in Summer is a unique visual record removed from his iconic references to the bound nude, the publication is a highly emotive, yet visually quiet documentation of his relationship with his surroundings and his unbreakable bond with Tokyo. Laid out within this photoboook, published in 2006 by Eyesencia, are 84 pages presenting a visual display of Araki's connection to his surrounding neighborhood. Photographed during a summer in Tokyo, Insert in Summer provides a singularly unique view into a landscape of Araki's world largely unknown in and amongst his presiding oeuvre. What is found within the images of the quiet suburban streets of Tokyo is a viewpoint fully bound and comfortable within the banalities of the everyday. Short sleeved shirted individuals, navigate themselves through the familiar heat and humidity, recognizable to those who have had the pleasure of experiencing a Japanese summer. An overriding feeling of an accustomed, familiar, and customary association of both surrounding and place situates the viewer into the landscape which envelopes the photographer, creating an overwhelmingly intimate and tender visual narrative of the conventional habits of the relationship between an individual and their home.