The large-format black-and-white photographs in the series GEISHA INK are as arresting as they are evocative.
An ambiguous, nude female figure is set against a strictly black background, her body almost entirely covered with the titillating lines and ominous imagery of countless tattoos.
Upon first encounter, GEISHA INK conveys a mood rather than a narrative, with images steeped in liberating seductiveness. When considered more carefully, the scenes begin to register as visceral shorthand for extreme physical encounters and hint to sentiments of permanence, commitment, and pain.
The demonstrative and radical tattoos that cover her body cause questions about the protagonist’s personal history, a disconcerting past, or trauma. At times, the compositions appear archaic or totemic, unapologetically staging the body in stylized, sculpted postures against the black background, as if to emphasize the objectification imposed upon her by former lovers.
The heroine’s vigilant postures and gestures, may they read as tender, are infused with an unrepentant and empowering solitude and a strong sense of purpose. The series GEISHA INK exquisitely shows how skillfully Nyari imbues erotic photography with narrative depth, creating intimate scenes charged with emancipation, mysticism, and stories about female empowerment.
Exhibitions List 2015-2017
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2017 GEISHA INK, Emmanuel Fremin Gallery, New York, USA.
2017 GEISHA INK, Awethentic Gallery, Hong Kong, China.
2015 GEISHA INK, KEE Club, Hong Kong, China.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 GEISHA INK, Venice Biennale, European Cultural Centre and GAA Foundation, Venice, Italy.
2017 GEISHA INK, Scope International Contemporary Art Show, Miami, USA.
2017 GEISHA INK, Cube: The American Art Fair in Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
2017 GEISHA INK, Fine Art Asia, Hong Kong, China.
2017 GEISHA INK, Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton, New York, USA.
2016 GEISHA INK, Photo Independent, Los Angeles, CA.
2015 GEISHA INK, The National Arts Club, New York, USA.
