love and death

 

                                                                             © araki

                             “Sentimental Journey/Winter Journey”

Araki started the “Sentimental Journey/Winter Journey” series in 1971, when he married Yoko. It commences with their honeymoon which the photographer carefully documented, and ends with Yoko’s death in 1990.
We can see the newlyweds, Yoko in the intimacy of lovemaking, Yoko asleep in a boat, Yoko in all the aspects of her life. Her fetal position while sleeping in the boat almost seems to be a portent of her untimely death, the vessel symbolizing her journey to the afterlife.
In this series, Araki is crudely realistic. We can follow Yoko’s decline day by day, up to the last touch of her hand with Araki’s and, finally, her composed gaze as she lies in the coffin.
Travel, women, landscapes, sex and death are the main themes of this series.