François Prost - Love Hotel

François Prost
Love Hotel

Published by Fisheye, December 2024
Size: 23 x 14 cm
Hardcover
224 pages
Languages: French, English, Japanese

Love Hotel brings together a collection of photographs of Japanese love hotel facades, taken in 2023 during a road trip between Tokyo and the island of Shikoku. Photographer François Prost presents a vernacular portrait of Japan, made up of ordinary roadsides, faded signs, and colorful facades, far removed from the usual clichés. From the rampant urbanization of major megacities to orderly agricultural countryside, the landscapes unfold through the prism of the facades of these establishments, emblematic of Japanese popular culture. Originally intended to offer privacy to Japanese couples whose romantic relationships were not always well-managed within the often small family home, love hotels provided an extension of the bedroom, dedicated to the act of love, far removed from family concerns. The project includes several hundred images and follows in the footsteps of other series previously produced on the fronts of festive venues: After Party (2011/23 France), Gentlemen's Club (2019, USA), Discoteca (2020, Spain) Club Ivoire (2023, Ivory Coast).