Sumo wrestlers grappling Photograph - Limited Edition of 10

I was invited to Isegahama Heya to shoot portraits of a Sumo wrestler on assignment for a magazine. It was a dream assignment as I was obsessed with Sumo as a child, so I asked if I could also get permission to watch and photograph an early morning training session. It is notoriously difficult to even see these, let alone photograph them so I was very happy to be allowed access. I made myself very compact and neat, laying out my cameras and film on a small towel as I had been told I might be asked to leave by the trainer at any point and I wanted to be as discreet and respectful as possible, while still getting my pictures. I observed a lot, noticing the key points and interactions between the wrestlers and composing and timing my shots carefully. I moved with the rhythms of the training session and worked diligently to get my images. This is an image of a young wrestler being put through his paces by an older wrestler, their hair becoming entangled as their body weights move as one. The strength and power is visible in the leg muscles, both wrestlers creating huge amounts of tension between each other as other novices watch on. The images are shot on Kodak film, the edition hand-printed in the darkroom on Fuji paper and mounted and framed in custom frames designed for this series by the artist and framed by Darbyshire Ltd, London's prestigious framers. The frames are Custom Sapele 12mm box frames, stained black and with a black wood interior. The prints are mounted with archival backing, floating mount within the frame behind UV filtered low-glare glass, with a split batten hanging. The frames are designed to pay respect to materials and forms found in the culture of Sumo. This is the first piece of a larger project. There will be two further framed prints being released later this year in the same series.