Simply Alice

An erotically charged series of male and female nudes

"I wanted to catch a moment beyond those feelings and prejudices" – Sarai Mari

The interview with the photographer : 

Sarai Mari: I grew up on a small mountain which is a world heritage UNESCO site in Japan and every society there has codes of conduct for how people should behave. Traditionally women are supposed to be shy and quietly mannered, and people are scared of being isolated or left behind. They conformed to fit in and I tried to push against it. I was loud, behaved like a free-woman and drove a big motor-cycle when I was teenager, with bleach blonde hair – a bit crazy for my village people.

I moved out of my tiny village when I was 18-years-old and went to the second largest metropolitan city in Japan – Osaka – then I went to Los Angeles to study photography. I had to get out of the small society quickly to see the world and find people who had the same free-spirit as myself. I wanted to prove what I could do and do something different. This reflects my work deeply, I see people inside and out. There is so much background information I can get when I shoot the model, but I am dedicated to the moment I see before me and to photographing a unique side. 

How does your book "celebrate all definitions of gender and sexuality"?

Sarai Mari: Now is an easier world for gender. I wanted to express models’ personas in my book. There is nothing to divide men and women and LGBT people – this book is genderless and timeless.

As a society we are obsessed with defining, giving labels and gendering roles, objects and even colours – what is it about our culture that causes this need to categorise everything?

Sarai Mari: Everyone has too much prejudice over others. There are too many hate crimes. In the news I see the 'threat' immigrants pose to countries now, and it is clear we are still holding onto racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and more. I wanted to catch a moment beyond those feelings and prejudices.

The women you shoot often look powerful and defiant, do you feel an obligation to empower women in your photographs?

Sarai Mari: Yes very much so, but powerful women have a dark side also – I like the contrast. They can be fragile and sensitive. I like all strong women who push their lack of freedom to make them even stronger.

You talk about how "in our radically changing and highly judgmental society, people are often scared of being isolated or left behind." Are we using certain social media platforms as a mask?

Sarai Mari: Yes exactly. It’s a convenient way to let all the world know how fabulous you are, but there are too many layers of mask hiding the truth of yourself. Everyone knows that we are all faking it everyday, little by little, but one day it will become the truth and there will be no going back.