Leben und Tod is the latest collaboration between these two seminal photographers and is the culmination of their joint exhibition at artspace AM, Tokyo, in 2019. This intensely personal project concentrates on Teller's series "Leben und Tod" (Life and Death), which reflects upon the death of his uncle and step-father Artur, juxtaposing photographs of his mother and homeland in Bubenreuth, Bavaria, with symbolic images of fertility and life on holiday in Bhutan with his partner Dovile Drizyte. Inspired by this series, Araki asked to photograph Teller's "childhood memory objects," items of particular emotional significance to him and his parents. Teller eagerly collected such personal gems, among them toys, a porcelain figurine and bridges made in the family's violin workshop; the resulting images by Araki are haunting yet playful, creating an intriguing narrative alongside the original story.

Born in 1940 in Tokyo, where he today lives and works, Nobuyoshi Araki worked in advertising after completing his studies in photography and film at Chiba University; he devoted himself exclusively to photography from the mid-1960s. Araki's oeuvre spans erotic portraits of women, artificial still lifes, images of plants, documentary-style depictions of everyday life, architectural photography, as well as diaristic photos of himself and his deceased wife Yoko. He has published around 400 books, shown in many international exhibitions, and his work is part of important collections worldwide. Steidl has published Araki's Impossible Love (2018).