Love Hotel

Love Hotel is a collection of photographs of the facades of Japanese Love Hotels, taken in 2023 during a road trip between Tokyo and the island of Shikoku. Photographer François Prost paints a vernacular portrait of Japan, with its ordinary roadsides, faded signs and colorful facades, far from the usual clichés. From the outrageous urbanization of the big megalopolises to the orderly agricultural countryside, landscapes pass by through the prism of the facades of these emblematic establishments of Japanese popular culture, originally intended to offer privacy to Japanese couples whose love affairs were not always well experienced within the often small family home. Loves Hotels offered a room extension dedicated to the act of love, far removed from family considerations. The project comprises several hundred images, and follows on from previous series of images of party venues: After Party (2011/23 France), Gentlemen’s Club (2019, USA), Discoteca (2020, Spain) Club Ivoire (2023, Ivory Coast).