shashasha

After the loss of his wife Yoko in 1990, taking photographs of the sky became a habitual practice for Araki. To the artist, the sky is a mirror reflecting his emotional state, and the ever-changing faces of the sky are a metaphor for the simple passing of the ays- a similitude of life itself. Araki often refers to his photographs as being like an I-novel. Similarly, these photographs of the sky are personal, what Araki calls “shikū (I-sky)”, capturing a sky that belongs to no one else other than Araki.

Due to a move at the end of 2011, Araki bid farewell to his house and balcony, a special place that has appeared as the setting of many of his works. Following “Sentimental Journey, Winter Journey,” a photo book of the time Araki spent with Yoko up until her death, and “Sentimental Journey, Spring Journey” which documents Chiro’s final days, “Sentimental Sky” is symbolic of yet another closing chapter to a love story in Araki’s life.