Japan House London Announces Photography Exhibition: Invisible

Date: 2026 March 14 09:49

Posted by Joe

The good folks from Japan House London have sent us details of an upcoming photography exhibition called Invisible . It's set to run from 3rd June to October 2026. It will showcase two major contemporary Japanese photographers: Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai. The exhibition will be directed by the team behind the KYOTOGRAPHIE photography festival.

Like many fans of photography we've always wanted to go to KYOTOGRAPHIE in Kyoto and we think it's great that Japan House London are bringing a bit of it over to the UK.

This is Japan House London's first photography exhibition.

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Press release as follows:

Japan House London Announces
Invisible
[インビジブル]


From the series A New River, 2020 ©Iwane Ai

3 June 2026 - October 2026

• Invisible features two major contemporary Japanese photographers: Kawada Kikuji and Iwane Ai. Both explore moments they consider significant through an expressionistic lens.
• Kawada Kikuji, long-established and a winner of the lifetime achievement award from the Photographic Society of Japan, shows a cross-section of his works from the 1950s, including his seminal series and photobook Chizu (The Map).
• Award-winning photographer Iwane Ai shows A New River, her series taken in the Tohoku region at a time coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring cherry blossoms at night and figures from Japanese folk traditions, alongside Kipuka, exploring Japanese immigrant communities in Hawaii.
• The celebrated team behind one of Asia's biggest photography festivals - KYOTOGRAPHIE - directs their first UK exhibition.
• This is Japan House London's first photography exhibition.

Shadow in the Water, from the series Los Caprichos ©Kawada Kikuji

Japan House London's first photography exhibition, Invisible, presents two major expressionistic Japanese photographers: Kawada Kikuji (b. 1933) and Iwane Ai (b.1975), and opens on Wednesday 3 June 2026.

The exhibition's title, Invisible, is taken from Kawada's own philosophy, but applies equally to all photography. He believes that by capturing the 'visible' through photography, one also highlights what is not visible, including the photographer.

Kawada's diverse and prolific body of work is often interpreted as an ever-evolving view of Japan's identity, starting in the years of national reconstruction following World War II. His work brought him prominence during 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, in recognition of his important role in the history of the craft.

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 exploring the lives of Japanese immigrants in Hawaii. Originally photographing on assignment for magazines, her now award-winning work has been shown at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum as well as large numbers of galleries outside of Japan.

Invisible features works from Kawada's Chizu (The Map, 1965) series, which went on to form arguably Japan's most important photobook, abstractly capturing the scars of post-war Hiroshima. Los Caprichos, while less well-known, is still proof of Kawada's break from the previous generations of Japanese photographers. These urban snapshots document his haunting daily observations. The selection of Kawada's works has been curated by Sayaka Takahashi from PGI, a major photo gallery in Tokyo.

Iwane's A New River 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 figures from Japanese folklore, exploring themes of isolation, transience and the invisible. These will be shown alongside works from her Kipuka 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 - are directing Invisible. Iwane and Kawada were both 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 biggest photography festivals in Asia, it was founded by co-directors and married couple 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 from Japan. 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.

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 unravels across the city's cultural spaces - historic townhouses, galleries, museums and temples alike - unfolding 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.

Source: Japan House London