Mari Sarai's NAKED is a celebration of 21st Century women. Through her lens Mari captures the moment the model’s everyday constructed persona is removed, revealing an erotic feminine sensuality that is infused with a wild freedom and inner confidence that goes beyond the boundaries of traditional portraiture and fashion photography. The resulting images capture a unique spontaneity; a model plays with a gun in one photograph, a girl writhes on the pavement at night in another. Friends, musicians, artists, editors and models are featured including Janice Dickenson, Alice Dellal and Daisy Lowe. 
 
Mari Sarai was born in Nara, Japan. From 1997, after studying photography at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles, she worked as a photographic journalist in New York. In 1999 she relocated to Tokyo where she worked as a fashion photographer. In 2005 she moved to London where she has since been working intensively on editorial projects including Dazed & Confused, Harpers Bazaar UK, Vogue UK as well as extensive commercial and advertising work.
 
NAKED at Blackall Studios is Mari Sarai’s first exhibition of her work in Europe following a successful debut show at Gallery Speak For, Tokyo and is accompanied by a book of the same name published by Seigensha Japan, which is available at the Photographers Gallery London, Claire de Rouen, Magma, 3939 Shop and Collette, Paris.

NAKED
15/911 - 13/10/11
Blackall Studios
20 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3DU