"To live is to go through a sentimental journey, and to him, to photograph is to go through a sentimental journey."

This is a quote by Yoko, Araki’s beloved wife who passed away in 1990. No other word can better represent Araki, someone whose life cannot be separated from photography. Now, together with Araki we are releasing the complete set of 18 contact sheets including all 108 images from his legendary self published monograph in 1971 “Sentimental Journey”. While the rediscovery of the long lost negatives from the 14th contact sheet had been crucial to the publication this time, it is certain that by glimpsing through all 653 cuts one can see the present and past of Araki’s life as a photographer.

As Araki himself puts: "Sentimental Journey hasn’t ended at all. It has continued on since then. Photographs I have shot today, yesterday and tomorrow are all connected with that time. Remember how in the prologue of the photo book I have wrote, ‘As the progression of my daily life goes on and disappears, something is felt in the process’? It doesn’t matter whether the exposure or the focus is right. All the time frame captured and disclosed in the contact sheets like this totally represent my determination as a photographer!“

This first work by Araki turned out to be a masterpiece in the history. With his unshakable core of determination, Araki continues to photograph - he continues to go through his very own sentimental journey.