In Japan’s long-formed and intrepid relationship with erotica, one sub-genre of hyper sexualised, often violent art seeks only to shock, disgust and otherwise explore taboo, deviant and inappropriate imagery. Ero guro nansenu, often shortened to ero guro or just guro, is this genre; a surreal, nightmare version of traditional Japanese woodblock printing.
The anglicised name taken from the words ‘erotic’, ‘grotesque’ and ‘nonsense’ is all too fitting. In the world of guro nothing is off limits and the more shocking, the better.
Dipping into the world’s of horror, erotica and torture, ero guro nansenu isn’t an art style reserved for the feint-hearted.
Combining perverse fantasies with horrifying and disgusting imagery, guro’s influence can be felt today, not only in Japan’s deep libraries of taboo erotica but also in Western creative movements like Hollywood’s foray into torture porn or overtly sexualised sci-fi.
Flying Lotus employed modern guro artist Shintaro Kago in creating the cover for his 2014 You’re Dead! pictured below.
Shocking art has always had it’s place, but no field delves into the same extremes as guro. Symbols of death, decay, gore, pain and the lower depths of sexual deviancy are common, if not encouraged – think the Serbian Film of Japanese character art.
Interestingly enough the level of decrepitude hasn’t blossomed in the near century since the movement was birthed. Maybe it’s tough to pass such a high ceiling of shock content, or perhaps Japan has yet to see another period of artistic development akin to guro’s early days.
Read more about ero guro nansenu on The Creator’s Project.
