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Some couples try all kinds of romantic tricks to keep their love alive forever but Japanese photographer Haruhiko Kawaguchi takes a more literal approach – he wraps people in plastic wrap, sucks out the air, and takes photos of their distorted bodies. Hmm, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! This can be actually quite dangerous but some people find it very appealing.

The bizarre images of people huddled together in awkward positions in vacuumed plastic wrap may look like stills from a sado-masochistic session but they are Haruhiko Kawaguchi’s way of presenting and preserving the love between two people. His project, “Flesh Love”, is pretty straightforward. Two people, usually couples, are “packaged” in a 100 by 150 by 74 centimeters plastic bag the artist buys from the Internet. After carefully arranging their body parts so he can get the best shot, Kawaguchi uses an old vacuum cleaner to suck out all the air and make the subjects look like a pack of packaged meat you buy at the supermarket. It takes about 10 to 20 seconds for him to take the photographs during which time the shrink wrapped couple has to endure the pressure and lack of air. But it’s all in the name of love.

Love is the source of everything, according to Haruhiko, who likes to be called Hal. A man who accumulates wealth does so out of love for his wife or for expensive cars. People go to war for the love of power, love for their country, or love for their own life. He feels proud to be able to capture the hottest and greatest moment of love, when the lovers are welded together in plastic wrap. If one of them dies, or if they break up, there is still this photo of their immortalized (and well preserved) love.

The magic happens on the kitchen floor of Hal’s Tokyo apartment under the watchful eyes of the artist and his American girlfriend, Katherine. Photo subjects are covered with lubricant so the skin doesn’t burn when the plastic presses upon it as all the air is sucked out. Still, the sensation isn’t very pleasant – the plastic seals off your nostrils, presses on your eyelids, and the ears pop as if you’re diving into deep water too fast. Kawaguchi says he’s photographed about 80 couples for Flesh Love so far and there have been some accidents. It’s the men who panic the most, he says. Four or five of them started struggling for air while in the bag and one even peed in his pants but none of them were able to break the plastic bag from the inside. But there have been no major incidents and the artist always has oxygen sprays nearby.

We give Hal thumbs up for creativity and for his unique style (although considering the images “beautiful” is subjective and up to personal taste). So, would you have yourself wrapped in a vacuumed plastic bag in order to have your love immortalized? You decide (and don’t forget to always check the expiration date!) . . .

Check out some more delicious preservations of Hal here!

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