Seen: Rakuen Nippon 楽園日本Who: Nobuyoshi Araki  荒木経惟Where: Art Space AM, Harajuku (map)When: Janu

Seen:Rakuen Nippon楽園日本

Who: Nobuyoshi Araki  荒木経惟

Where:Art Space AM, Harajuku (map)

When:January 11  - March 3, 2022 (Open 1-7pm.  Closed Mondays, Tuesdays)

Titled 楽園日本 (Paradise Japan), Nobuyoshi Araki’s new show at Art Space AM plays on the riff of the Japanese hinomaru flag motif used this time in his latest round of doll/flower photographs.

The use of Japan’s national flag can be fraught with implications in Art- too many to get into detail here- but Araki’s use of the the Japanese flag in his work over the past six decades has never been political- indeed, I don’t think he’s ever had a political thought in his mind.

Purposefully uninterested in such matters then, his use of the flag is subversively comical- and in no way a statement on government or history.
If you don’t chuckle aloud a few times in this show, I don’t know what to say. It’s full of his legendary absurdist humor punctuated with moments of bizarre beauty.

Per usual, the gallery space is a work of art in its own right. For best results, visit once the sun has set.