Saturday, October 10, at 6:30 PM, at the Carlo Contini Art Gallery in Oristano, a meeting dedicated to the relationship between photography, eroticism, and kinbaku will accompany the finissage of “Secret Pages,” the exhibition curated by Sonia Borsato and dedicated to Nobuyoshi Araki, as part of the 28th edition of the Dromos Festival.
“Bound Art: The Practice of Kinbaku in Araki’s Poetics” is the title of the debate that offers a reflection on one of the most discussed aspects of the Japanese photographer’s research: the practice of binding and its relationship with the representation of the body, desire, and intimacy.
Coordinated by journalist Patrizia Mocci, the meeting will feature contributions from curator and art historian Sonia Borsato, Pietro Molinas Balata, from whose personal collection the 122 Araki photographs on display originate, writer Luca Scarlini, and Marco Carrus, performer and head of Legàmi Cagliari, a project dedicated to the art of Shibari through training and artistic research.
The discussion will begin with a brief introduction to the exhibition and will then focus on Araki’s poetics, the role of women in his research, and the complexity of the erotic practices represented in his photographs. At the center of the reflection will also be the so-called “geography of the eye”: a gaze inevitably influenced by the Western cultural perspective and contemporary reflections on gender, consent, and the power dynamics in the representation of the body.
Kinbaku, addressed not only as an erotic practice or iconographic element, will thus be observed as a language made of ritual, tension, trust, vulnerability, relationship, and the construction of the image.
After the debate, there will be time for questions from the audience and a live demonstration of Japanese binding by Marks and Jasmine of Legàmi Cagliari, who will guide those present into the practical dimension of shibari/kinbaku.
Closing the evening will be the musical selections of DJ Orinoco Dave.
The event is free admission while seats last. Limited capacity.
EXHIBITION INFO
Carlo Contini Art Gallery
Via Sant’Antonio, Oristano
July 18 – October 17, 2026
Opening hours
Monday to Friday 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Exhibition ticket
5 euros
The exhibition contains explicit images; for this reason, it is recommended for an adult audience.
Credits
The exhibition, part of the program of the XXVIII edition of the Dromos festival, is organized by the cultural association of the same name with the support of the Municipality of Oristano – in collaboration with the Oristano Foundation and the Carlo Contini Art Gallery – the MiC – Ministry of Culture, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Department of Public Education, Cultural Heritage, Information, Entertainment and Sport and Department of Tourism, Crafts and Commerce), the Sardinia Foundation.