BRAND NEW! SOLD OUT! MADONNA Signed Edition “Adore” by Kenji Wakasugi 1985 Tokyo

Description

Brand New, never read copy of Sold Out “Adore” - this signed photo edition (#18) was limited to only 100 copies. This is the very rare edition. The book is in hand and ready to ship.
It was January 1985, Tokyo – Madonna’s first visit to Japan to promote the ‘Like a Virgin’ album. Photographer Kenji Wakasugi was allotted 45 minutes for a photo session commissioned by Playboy Weekly Excite. In the studio there was one flash unit and one pink sofa, nothing else. Loaded with a mesh of now iconic references from early Gaultier and Westwood, to the Healthy Swimmer T-shirt and Boy Toy belt-buckle, the Takara Kronoform robot watch, to Maripol’s layered rubber and crucifix jewellery – time has done nothing to diminish the potency of these photographs.
The opening and closing pages of ADORE offer a further insight into Kenji’s 80s nocturnal world. A myriad of street neon’s and bustling commuters but amongst all the noise are Kenji’s beautifully serene interiors. These delicate Japanese motifs of flowers, birds, even an eclipse, punctuate the chaos. This paradoxical meeting of culture and nature is central to all Kenji’s subsequent work as a serious artist.
Published for the first time ADORE is the complete overview of the session – 200 pages include 324 frames, 10 contact sheets, together with 111 large format black and white portraits. Furthermore, the design of this art-book pays homage to Japanese 80s minimalism. The aqua cover features only the title ADORE debossed in ebony lettering. Madonna’s name is foiled in Japanese text on the accompanying canary yellow and neon pink bellybands (hand sewn) – the idea being that the book itself becomes an object of beauty. It is also worth noting that the entire first edition is bound in recycled paper made from coffee cup waste – taking some steps towards reducing environmental impact. This edition includes the canary yellow bellyband with a signed and numbered certificate by Kenji Wakasugi.
Published January 2021 by NJG.
Size 205mm x 330mm
Cover Bound in ‘Aqua’ recycled paper made from coffee cup waste, foiled with de-bossed ebony lettering. The accompanying canary yellow bellyband is hand sewn and foiled with ebony lettering.
Pages 200
Images 324 frames, 10 contact sheets, 111 large format black and white portraits, with the inclusion of 18 exterior and interior images shot in Tokyo.