The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation is delighted to present Sayuri Ichida’s first solo exhibition in the UK, transiənt (‘transient’). This exhibition offers an opportunity to discover Ichida’s two photography series, ‘Absentee’ (2020-2021) and ‘Ctrl Shift + J’ (2023-). Drawing from personal experiences of loss, grief, and life abroad, Ichida’s works explore the ephemeral nature of life and existence. Through these series, she revisits and processes the past, reflecting on the complex ways we experience time – distortion, repetition, and regression – when memories intertwine with the present. Showcasing over 30 pieces, the exhibition invites viewers to immerse themselves in her delicately processed monochromatic images that integrate her emotional landscapes across multiple temporal dimensions.

‘Absentee’ (2020-2021), displayed in the Park Side Gallery, comprises portraits and landscapes Ichida created during the Covid lockdown in New York, where she previously lived. The uncertainty of the Covid pandemic, coupled with the early loss of her mother, heightened her awareness of life’s fragility, awakening her profound sorrow. In this series, Ichida conveys her intense emotional state and desire to escape from reality by merging fragmented images of her body with natural and industrial landscapes taken in her neighbourhood. By photographing herself and often pairing these photographs with other snapshots, Ichida elevates her physical presence into a personal refuge, blurring the boundary between her inner self and the outer world. The juxtapositions of these positive and negative images communicate her sense of ‘belonging nowhere’, achieving a brooding and desolate undertone. The contrast between the soft curves of her body and the stark lines of industrial materials, such as a factory wall and fractured timber, create a visual tension that projects her emotional turmoil – a dichotomy of the desire to accept the painful memories of the past and her inability to escape their hold. Printed on Kōzo-shi (Japanese light-weight paper made of mulberry) and voile, and presented as wall displays and a photobook, ‘Absentee’ narrates the internal struggle between the past and present within Ichida’s mind.

‘Ctrl Shift + J’ (2023-), exhibited in the Mews Side Gallery, is Ichida’s ongoing project through which she encapsulates alienated feelings shaped by years of frequent relocation from Fukuoka to Niigata, Tokyo, New York, London, and eventually Margate. The title references the keyboard shortcut she uses to switch between English and Japanese, symbolising her continuous need to adapt and switch between identities. A recent DNA test revealing her great-great-grandfather’s emigration from the UK to Japan further inspired her to explore her sense of belonging, photographing images from sources reminiscent of ‘home’. While some images have personal links to Ichida’s past, such as the landscapes from where she once lived and her grandfather’s passport photo, others include those she coincidentally encountered and felt oddly familiar with, including anonymous vintage photographs from Japan discovered in Margate. Each image was carefully transformed to alter the light level or incorporate geometric lines and shapes through cutting, drawing, and folding as she reimagined the past and projected her inner state of ‘not fitting in’ onto the graphics. Ichida then rephotographed and processed them using polymer photogravure. Mounted with passe-partout frames, the final pieces create visual illusions, inviting viewers to engage in her layered mindscape from a distance.

Text by Nanaka Kishi

29 January 2025 – 7 March 2025
Monday–Friday 9:30 am–5:00 pm (except public holidays)
Admission free

• This exhibition is curated by Nanaka Kishi (Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation).
• This exhibition has been presented with the generous support of IBASHO Gallery, Antwerp.

Related events:
Private View: transiənt by Sayuri Ichida
Tuesday 28 January 2025, 6pm-8pm