©Eikoh Hosoe, Kazuo Ohno 1996 from the series The butterfly dream 1960-2005.Ukiyo-e projections #2-36 2003.Courtesy Studio Equis

This exhibition brings together four seminal series by Eikoh Hosoe, a leading figure in modern Japanese photography.

Taken over five decades, The butterfly dream 1960-2005, Kamaitachi 1965-68 and Ukiyo-e projections 2002-03 are driven by Hosoe’s longstanding fascination for the revolutionary dance movement butoh and for its charismatic founders, Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno.

Together these series epitomise his unique style, which combines photography with elements of theatre, dance, film and traditional Japanese art.

Using the latest digital technology, Hosoe prints his photographs on washi paper, mounting them in the traditional Japanese manner as scrolls and folding screens, thereby suggesting a new way of ‘reading’ his series as a continuous narrative.

Hosoe’s interest in examining the beauty and strength of the human body is best seen in his acclaimed series Embrace 1969-70, for which Hijikata was one of the models.

Details of Eikoh Hosoe talk and Butoh Performance