Polart — Nobuyoshi Araki / Red Hot

Published in 2009 in a limited edition of 1,500 copies, Polart is Araki in pure gesture: a book of Polaroids selected and sequenced by the artist himself, edited in collaboration with the now-closed Red Hot Gallery in Paris and printed in Japan by Huboya. The cover, white and abrupt, is emblazoned with Araki’s handwriting — a bold, gestural typography that suggests the intimacy and immediacy of the images inside.

Known for his prolific use of instant film, Araki used the Polaroid not just as a camera but as a diaristic tool — sensual, direct, obsessive. Polart distills that practice into a carefully paced flow of Polaroid works, unbound from chronology, unified by tone. These are not studio images, but fragments of affection, desire, and absence — emotional snapshots arranged with an artist’s feel for rhythm.

The book is both an archive and an object of its own: printed with striking technical precision (by Dai Nippon Printing), it’s an important artefact of Araki’s later period and a testament to his ongoing dialogue with photobook form. A must for collectors of Japanese photography, rare editions, and the fleeting language of the Polaroid.

Technical Sheet

Title: Polart

Artist / Author: Nobuyoshi Araki

Date: 2009

Technique / Printing Method: Offset (printed in Japan)

Medium / Materials: Hardcover with dust jacket

Edition: Limited edition of 1,500

Signed: No

Dimensions (cm): Approx. 19.5 × 30

Language: None / Image-based

Publisher / Editor: Nobuyoshi Araki / Red Hot Gallery, Paris / Huboya Art

Condition: New