Document Kagami no Heya.The Mirror Room

Akira Ishigaki today is most known for his underground photo documents of Kinbaku rope bondage practitioners. Before most of those he published this personal "document" of romantic encounters in 1976/77. Nobuyoshi Araki comes to mind of course, with the settings, "poses," and more than occasional appearances of the photographer in his own art (though these photos really predate publications of Araki's similar work). All of the photos are taken in Love Hotels with one night stands - whether professionals or acquaintances they are enthusiastic participant models. Ishigaki documents the names and ages of the girlfriend/models as well as the dates of the encounters. Though most of the photos feature the model alone, the title of the book is derived from the photos where Ishigaki utilizes the Hotel mirrors (some are very large) to include himself as a voyeur participant. In these photos Ishigaki usually positions himself behind the nude model and his face is always obscured by his large camera as he looks through the viewfinder. This has the unsettling effect of identifying us the viewer as the voyeur-participant in his stead or alternatively turning himself into a voyeur-ghost hovering within the proceedings. — F.to: 21x30; pagg. 128; BN; rileg. brossura. Editore: Hama Shobo, Tokyo, 1982.