POLARAKI – A Thousand Polaroids by Araki Nobuyoshi

This autumn, the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts is hosting an exhibition that is as daring as it is fascinating: POLARAKI – A Thousand Polaroids by Araki Nobuyoshi. A prolific and provocative Japanese photographer, Araki has been exploring the boundaries between art, intimacy and visual impulse since the 1960s. Taken between 1997 and 2024, the Polaroids on display are evidence of a raw and instinctive daily artistic practice. Far from being mere snapshots, these images become fragments of a visual diary, revealing the poetry of the moment and a tension between eroticism and contemplation.

An immersive and unique installation

The exhibition is displayed in the rotunda on the fourth floor of the museum, where collector Stéphane André—who made this exceptional donation—has recreated the installation he designed for his own apartment. Forty-three columns of nine frames, stretching from floor to ceiling, each hold between one and four Polaroids, arranged according to combinations devised by Araki or the collector. This arrangement evokes a contemporary cabinet of curiosities, saturated with images and emotions, where the strange rubs shoulders with the intimate.

The Polaroid as an artistic language

For Araki, the Polaroid is not just a tool but a medium in its own right. Its immediacy, irreversibility and chemical vagaries become vectors of radical authenticity. The POLARAKI exhibition reveals how this technique, often perceived as ephemeral, can convey a work of rare poetic intensity. Through this installation, the Guimet Museum continues its commitment to contemporary Asian art, offering visitors a unique visual and sensory experience.

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