Note: Contains nudity.

Takato Yamamoto paints gothic scenes that resemble erotic nightmares. He calls his work “Heisei Estheticism,” drawing on the tradition of Japanese woodblock prints and infusing them with images (often violent and sexualized) inspired by modern manga. Recurring motifs include sullen-faced women bound in ropes, rotting corpses festooned with vines, and bloodied vampires reposing under the full moon. Colliding sex with death, Yamamoto offers the viewer a narcotic stillness at the intersection of lust and fear—the figurative eye of arousal’s storm.

Images © Takato Yamamoto