BODY (The body undressed - beauty, eroticism, struggle)

Shinoyama has consistently broken new ground in nude photography with his photobooks and other works, from his early sculptural nudes to his series of “Gekisha” (agitated shots) from the 1970s and publications such as Santa Fe (Rie Miyazawa) and water fruit (Kanako Higuchi) that became social phenomena. Also discernible in his work throughout this period has been an insatiable interest in the ever-changing form and appearance of the human body, as represented by dancers, athletes, tattooed men, and so on. Various factors, including the peculiar sense of thrill that comes with working amongst people in conflict with normal social behavior or morals and an interest in traditional Japanese aesthetics, have spurred Shinoyama to take on one challenge after another. He has responded with a speed faster than that at which the times change, and the results are presented here for all to see.

Rie Miyazawa, 1991

Vladimir Malakhov, 1998