Created By
Reka Nyari
Archival Pigment Prints on Acid Free Paper. Edition 1/3 + 2 AP
Curator
Luke Chapman
Reka Nyari’s “Onna-Oyabun” from the Ginzilla series is a commanding meditation on feminine authority and subversive lineage, where the subject’s tattooed body asserts itself as both matriarch and mythmaker. Nyari’s lens deftly fuses the gravitas of the oyabun—the yakuza boss—with the enigmatic grace of the geisha, crafting an image that pulses with both academic rigor and a subtle, beat-driven undercurrent of rebellion. The intricate Irezumi, mapped across the skin, becomes a visual manifesto of power, resilience, and self-determination, inviting viewers to reconsider the boundaries of tradition and autonomy. With only a few editions left in select sizes due to exceptional demand, “Onna-Oyabun” stands as a rare and potent artifact—a visual anthem for those who lead from the margins and rewrite the rules in ink.
Ginzilla’s Story Our depicted heroine, Ginzilla, was born into a traditional Japanese family of uncompromisingly strict conservative-values. The effect was suffocating to her wild heart, engendering acts of rebellion perhaps most visible as the arresting marks of defiance, written in permanent-ink on the canvas of her body. These images tell the story of her life; illustrations of tigers, wolves, and dragons contrast societal expectations of female submission and obedience. 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. These dynamic photographs re-envision traditional concepts of femininity by juxtaposing the symbolism of the Japanese ‘Geisha’ with that of Yakuski (Japanese gangster) tattoos (Irezumju). Irezumju tattoos require a painful, meticulous method of manually inserting needles into the skin. Associated with the criminal activity of the Yakuski gangs, members would brand themselves with Irezumi tattoos. Due to its painful process, Irezumju is considered a mark of the recipient’s bravery, and evidence of their insubordination. Despite the widening trend of tattoos among non-yakuza, they still carry a significant stigma in Japanese society. In presenting her work as exquisitely crafted, large-scale photographs, Nyari elevates her model to that of Goddess, or perhaps, the Virgin Mary, subverting concepts of purity and sexuality, religion and sin. She is presented for the viewer’s meditative contemplation as a symbol of strength, defiance, and unapologetic female desire; her body on-display for worship, the tattoos adorning it, as ifprayer beads of a rosary. GEISHA INK tells the intoxicating story of Ginzilla, revealing and subverting female archetypes through a visual exploration of sexuality, taboos, eroticism and culture.
Created By
Reka Nyari
160 x 127 cm | 63 x 50 in
Wooden box frame with 3" white border
