Erotos is a photobook by Nobuyoshi Araki, published by Libro Port in 1993. The title brings together the ideas of Eros and Thanatos, and the book is composed of monochrome close-ups of body parts, nudes, plants, fruit, cracks in the pavement, pipes, and other material details.
Rather than focusing on portraits, the city, or diaristic scenes from everyday life, the book is structured through fragments and details that fill the page. Although the subjects are concrete, they are detached from narrative or place, creating images that address the viewer on a more direct, physical level.
Erotos presents Araki’s recurring concerns with life and death, sexuality and materiality, in a more abstract and concentrated form. Although it is not always discussed as one of his best-known works, it stands as an overlooked masterpiece within Araki’s body of work.
Erotos Nobuyoshi Araki Libro Port, 1993 235 × 308 × 20 mm
