“MONSTROUS PARADISE”
An exhibition of works by Japanese artist Nobuyoshi Araki.
Dates: March 15th 2025 to April 28th 2025

The origin of this photo project goes back to 1999. Rene Rietmeyer, from the European Cultural Centre, met with Araki at the opening of his exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, and they discussed a photo project.
Years passed and Rene created and published several art projects with other world-famous artists. 
However, he always remembered the talks with Araki and the project they wanted to make. Many of the Art Projects that Rene created had in common that naked women were part of the project. It seemed no more than natural to try to organize photo sessions with Araki whereby the women would be naked again.

Rene agreed in 2015 to meet Araki in Tokyo with two models. As a gift, they had brought two little toy animals with them. Araki has a big collection of toy monsters.

Araki explained that he did not want to make photos of naked women anymore, he wanted the little monsters, combined with flowers. The two little monsters will represent the models he explained. Right there in he  seemed to vision the photo project already clearly in his head and he called it: “Monstrous Paradise”.

The photos that are exhibited are very unusual to present here in the National Gallery of Seychelles, toy dolls of naked women with toy monsters arranged in often dying flowers. However, the European Cultural Centre hopes that all visitors of this exhibition can see the intellectual concept behind the photos, the photos that represent Araki’s vision of his life in Tokyo, a truly “Monstrous Paradise”.