Japan House London Announces 'Invisible'
[インビジブル]
LONDON, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --
- Invisible features two of the most significant Japanese photographers working today: Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai.
- Kawada Kikuji, presents a selected survey of his works from the 1950s to today, including his seminal series Chizu (The Map, 1965).
- Iwane Ai shows A New River (2020), her series taken in the Tōhoku region during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring cherry blossoms at night and figures from Japanese folk traditions, alongside Kipuka (2018), a series exploring Japanese immigrant communities in Hawaii.
- The celebrated team behind one of Asia's largest photography festivals – KYOTOGRAPHIE – directs their first UK exhibition.
- This is Japan House London's first photography exhibition.
Japan House London's first photography exhibition, Invisible, presents two major Japanese photographers: Kawada Kikuji (b. 1933) and Iwane Ai (b.1975), and opens on 3 June 2026.
The exhibition's title is taken from Kawada's own thoughts on photography. He believes that capturing the 'visible' also highlights what is not visible, including the photographer.
Kawada's diverse and prolific output is often interpreted as an ever-evolving view of Japan's identity, starting in the years of national reconstruction following World War II. He came to prominence in the 1960s, when he founded the VIVO collective, a groundbreaking group of emerging photographers, and was exhibited at MoMA, New York in 1974. In 2011, he received a lifetime achievement award from the Photographic Society of Japan.
Iwane hails from Tokyo and attended high school in the United States. Much of her work is transnational in nature, such as her series Kipuka (2018), exploring the lives of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. Originally photographing on assignment for magazines, her award-winning work has been shown at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum as well as galleries and museums around the world.
Invisible features works from Kawada's series Chizu (The Map, 1965), which went on to form arguably Japan's most important photobook, abstractly capturing the scars of postwar Hiroshima. Comprising urban snapshots, Los Caprichos (1968-1981) marks a decisive break from previous generations of Japanese photographers. The selection of Kawada's works has been curated by Sayaka Takahashi from PGI gallery in Tokyo.
Iwane's A New River (2020) is also displayed within the exhibition. The series is taken in the Tо̄hoku region during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring cherry blossoms at night accompanied by supernatural folkloric figures, exploring themes of isolation, transience and the invisible. These will be shown alongside her Kipuka (2018) series, depicting Japanese communities in Hawaii with roots in Fukushima.
Exhibiting in the UK for the first time, the team behind one of Asia's biggest photography festivals – KYOTOGRAPHIE – is directing Invisible. Iwane and Kawada were featured in KYOTOGRAPHIE in 2022 and 2024, respectively, but Invisible is the first time they have exhibited together.
Founded in 2013, KYOTOGRAPHIE is a month-long international photography festival that takes place in Kyoto each spring, with 2025's festival welcoming almost 300,000 visitors. Now one of the largest photography festivals in Asia, it was founded by co-directors Lucille Reyboz and Nakanishi Yūsuke. Their aim is to foster a greater appreciation of photography as an art form through the festival, offering educational initiatives through a public programme. This is mirrored in the exhibition at Japan House London, which is accompanied by a series of events inspired by the photographers and the themes from their works.
Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House, said:
"This is the first time Japan House London is dedicating an exhibition to photography. It is a great privilege to present these two artists who are concerned with phenomena that resonate with us all. The show is filled with stories from the past and present that, on reflection, encourage us to contemplate our futures together, regardless of where we are from."
The Japan House London Invisible exhibition is supported by Epson UK Ltd.
Notes to Editors
About
KYOTOGRAPHIE
KYOTOGRAPHIE is an international photography festival based in Kyoto, a city globally recognized for its deep roots in history, art and culture. Each spring, the festival sprawls across the city's cultural spaces – from historic townhouses and temples to galleries and museums – unfurling into an immersive celebration of photography.
About Japan House London
Japan House London is a cultural destination offering the best and latest from Japan. Located on Kensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens the visitor's appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative, there are two other Japan Houses, one in Los Angeles and the other in São Paulo.
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