Reka Nyari’s erotically charged photographs engage cultural narratives surrounding gender and sexuality. A master at the art of storytelling, Nyari’s newest series, GEISHA INK, documents Ginzilla, a dramatically posed young woman whose naked body is lavishly-adorned with tattoos. A champion of feminine fortitude, Nyari has long been fascinated with the art of capturing women without pretense. Recognizing strength in the vulnerability of the nude female form, she chooses most often to photograph women. In doing so, Nyari circumvents aspects of performativity experienced within the masculine/feminine gender dynamic, no doubt informing the remarkable veracity of her portraiture. Her ground-breaking series GEISHA INK advances themes persistent throughout Nyari’s oeuvre; these striking images convey the power and strength of her subject, inviting the viewer to bear witness to her model’s story. Our depicted heroine was born into a traditional family of uncompromisingly strict conservative-values. Ginzilla’s first lover was a tattoo artist, a predilection which has guided her sexual journey. All of her body-art was composed and executed by lovers, compounding its personal meaning to her, while providing a veritable map of her life. Edgy, raw, and resilient, Nyari depicts her subject as a woman whose sexuality is defined independent of a man. GEISHA INK tells the intoxicating story of Ginzilla, revealing and subverting female archetypes through a visual exploration of sexuality, taboos, eroticism and culture. For further information or print purchase, please contact us
