Yonehara Yasumasa (b. 1959)
Tokyo Amour N32-1
Japan, 2008
Sculpture; instant film photographs and polymethyl methacrylate box
Copyright: Yonehara Yasumasa
Loan from the artist
(L2014-50.01)

In each of the photographs, a nude woman leans out of the bathtub towards Yonehara, but their interaction takes place just beyond our view. Like many early works by Araki Nobuyoshi (b. 1940), whose more recent bondage images are on display nearby, these pictures seem to document sexual encounters between the photographer and his models. Fundamental themes in Yonehara’s artwork include his intimate relationships with women as well as our own ambiguous, voyeuristic roles within those relationships.