A dominatrix and her tightly bound client: Giada Ripa’s best photograph
Italian photographer Giada Ripa’s portrait of Karen, a Japanese dominatrix and rope artist, is part of a project exploring how Japan has been represented across 150 years. Ripa connects contemporary subjects with photographs made by Felice Beato in 19th-century Japan, asking how people present themselves and how images shape perceptions of a culture.
The project began after Ripa found a 53-image album by Beato in her family home in Piemonte. She later discovered that her ancestor Mathilde Ruinart, who lived in Japan from 1867 for four years with her ambassador husband, had kept a diary and other records from the period. Ripa believes Ruinart acquired the album, and her work brings their perspectives into conversation with her own, including portraits of about 40 Japanese professions and communities.
- Ripa’s portrait of Karen links modern Japan with its photographic past.
- A Beato album found in her family home inspired the project.
- The work connects three perspectives across 150 years.
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Giada Ripa is an Italian photographer whose project looks at how Japan has been pictured over roughly 150 years. She pairs portraits of people in Japan today with photographs made by Felice Beato, a 19th-century photographer who worked there.
The project grew from an album of 53 Beato photographs that Ripa found in her family home in Piemonte. She later found records left by her ancestor Mathilde Ruinart, who lived in Japan from 1867 to 1871 with her ambassador husband; Ripa believes Ruinart acquired the album.
Ripa’s portraits include people from about 40 professions and communities, among them Karen, a Japanese dominatrix and rope artist. By setting these images alongside Beato’s work and Ruinart’s records, the project asks how people present themselves and how photographs shape views of a culture.