Ai no Balcony (Balcony of Love) Nobuyoshi Araki

This photobook, published for the 2019 exhibition "Ai no Balcony," centers on the apartment balcony in Gotokuji, Tokyo, where Nobuyoshi Araki resided from 1982 to 2011. This space served as his most intimate studio, capturing both the serene daily life he shared with his late wife, Yoko, and their cat, Chiro, as well as the profound emptiness that followed their passing. Documenting the balcony’s gradual transformation leading up to the building’s demolition, the book presents a poignant dialogue between life and death. Through images of flowers, lingering relics, and monster figurines, the balcony becomes a mirror of Araki’s own emotional landscape, eloquently capturing the presence of those he loved within the quiet void they left behind.