Based on the traditions of ukiyo-e, shunga and Hokusai’s famous print The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife, Masami Teraoka’s erotic watercolors take the aesthetic conventions of his Japanese heritage and re-purpose them to address political issues like “cultural globalization” and the spread of AIDS. The images displayed here – from Teraoka’s Waves, New Wave, and Tale of a Thousand Condoms series – were created during the late ’80s and early ’90s when the “AIDS crisis” in the US was in full force.

Images via Masami Teraoka’s website, where you can read more about his work.