The word “toxic” evokes fraught relationships between family members, romantic partners or colleagues. In Hideka Tonomura’s case, the torrid relationship in her life is between herself and her chosen medium of expression — photography.
“Toxic,” the final installment in a three-part series, explores the Kobe-born photographer’s interpretation of “the essence of love and life” by turning the camera on herself. The entire trilogy, collectively titled “Love,” is currently on display at Zen Foto Gallery in Tokyo through July 2.
From the start of her career, Tonomura, 43, has focused more on the taboos of love than on ideas of romantic or platonic attachment. She first garnered international attention in 2008 with “mama love,” a boundary-obliterating photobook in which she photographed her own mother acting out her real-life infidelity with a shadowy figure playing the role of her lover. This first installment of her “Love” series was followed by 2018’s “die of love,” a collection of graphic nudes, blurred scenes of nightlife, and everyday snapshots of banality Tonomura describes as a love story and tragicomedy.