Though one might find more audacious articulation in his bondage photographs, this series remains a compelling thread in his calm-before-the-storm snapshots of Tokyo in the early 80s, where streamlined concrete casually clashes with lush greenery, the living, breathing background of an artistically observed life— one peppered with reclining nudes, (his first foray into the provocative), a wife facing a bleak diagnosis, and Araki’s most consistent muse: Chiro, his pet cat.
You will have to visit the gallery to get your uncensored Araki fix; but for a quick palate prep in the meantime, check out office's exclusive Araki feature from issue 07: Blue Period / Last Summer.
There’s no right way to do it. It’s silly to enforce rules when it comes to making an object whose purpose is to be destroyed. The destruction can only be intuitive. However, it is possible to achieve a particular style, an approach to the act, learned criterion through ritualistic behavior. This is about crushing.
On any given day I will have one that I made myself, one that I bought from the store, and one that was sent to me by a member. Acknowledgment of origin allows for different approaches to the chosen one. Those that I author I have more sentiment for, the slaughter is tentative. The ones I buy are dry and lack pliability, obviously not made with love. The ones that are gifted to me, I feel responsible to ravage in a way that I normally would not, oftentimes prematurely. In all cases, deliberate, but not necessarily aggressive, there’s softness. This is about deflation.
Intimately destroying something meant to be shared could be considered a selfish act, wasteful even. I assure you, it is not. Object elimination using ‘body as medium’ widens the audience. The body simultaneously inflicts fantasized, celebratory pain on an item [usually consumed] while alleviating the audience’s sexual desires. This is about flattening.
Since the action is sudden and brief, teasing [by this I mean hovering and shaking] is key. The object will lay directly on a surface, nothing obstructing skin to skin contact, this allows for a secure initial embrace. Composition is important, multiple points-of-view should be considered and movement is frequent. Bouncing, crumbling, smearing, and wiping are all options but not mandatory. Though, there is indisputable effort of disintegration. Be prepared to dispose of your palette, laundering is improbable. This is about obliterating.
Chocolate is out of the question. Cutthroat I know, but it’s not about taste. Newton divided the spectrum into seven colors, use those, minus Red. Cupped, layered, sheets, conical, most notably round, like the sun and the moon, size and shape are symbolic. I guarantee the more height the more explosive beneath strength. Their ancestors, Vikings, Egyptian, Greek and Roman, were flat and folded to begin with. This is about collapsing.
The more superficially attractive the surface, the stronger the attachment from the audience, which results in amplified enjoyment for all. Add to the veneer, enhance with piped borders. Open star, closed star, rosettes, drop flower, french, petal. Your hand should remain visible, this is not about perfection. Inspiration for costuming of your own, can be found in the decor. I enjoy metallics, tightness, mesh, stretching, and minimal lines. This is about pounding.
Timing the event is where it gets tricky, it is everything. I cannot decide, for another, when it is the right time. My advice would be to have an honest method, each time could be the first time or last time. Best not to make assumptions: what you want to happen, will not happen. Confidence in the performed gesture can spawn from habituating a practice but do not ignore tenderness. This is a ceremony, vanity and novelty cannot be present. This is about pulverization.
It is a financially comprising routine, unquantifiable economically because consummation points are scattered and unknown. Even for the most accomplished, it cannot be considered financially enriching as the premium members commissioning the viewing are limited and the unnamed voyeurs are untraced [perhaps too oppressed to monetarily admit to their needs]. Art objects are expensive because they’re fetishized, easily commodifiable. What I offer is joy in anticipation, pricing varies. This is about grinding.
The crossover audience enters when the entertainer converts regulars to fetishists. The regular enjoys the performer in such a way that any act carried out can expect arousal in response. At this moment, finding pleasure in pleasing happens simultaneously between onlooker and entertainer. Perversions aren’t just born, they can be made. This is about compression.
I challenge the trope of villain with the following: I am an alleviator. I have the ability to assuage [what those without fetish may see as a threat] by providing relief to those who have displaced desires. I am an outlet for the wayward appetites. Humans don’t view consuming food as destroying, it is seen as nourishment. I present myself as the special-purpose nourisher. This is about dismantling.
The aftermath is not apart of the show but it is apart of the process. It’s something like sex, be sure to cleanse. This is your space to be alone with the remains of your work. The smell is something only you will experience, relish in it. Granulated sugar makes your skin supple, this is your time for satisfaction. Yes, it is about crushing, it is also about absorbing.
I’m an artist, my work is sex, this is my cake period.
Now, drawing inspiration from Sierra Domino and Marlon Riggs, Mooney teamed up to produce a personal project with photographer Eric Johnson— the legend responsible for shooting Lauryn Hill's only album cover— to create mind-altering photos, a visual projection of the place he's at with his creative thought process today.
