Speaker

Eve Loh-Kazuhara (Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow 2025-2026)

About the Talk

The southern Japanese Amami islands are celebrated for their pristine white beaches and emerald-blue seas yet the artist Tanaka Isson (1908–77) painted them differently. Venturing deep into the islands’ forests, he spent countless hours observing wildlife, waiting for elusive migratory birds to appear and making meticulous sketches. From these intimate encounters emerged enigmatic landscapes and otherworldly botanical sketches often bathed in backlighting. This sensibility echoes Japanese novelist Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s (1886–65) writing on finding beauty in shadows.

Isson moved to the Amami islands from mainland Japan after a series of career setbacks, determined to make a fresh start. Living frugally and largely in isolation for nearly two decades, he focused on painting the islands’ nature. He had hoped to stage a comeback exhibition in Tokyo but his sudden death ended that dream. The islands’ residents, however, refused to let his work be forgotten. They came together to organise a local exhibition and championed his legacy, gradually bringing his paintings from obscurity to popular acclaim and national attention.

What does it mean when an artist is recognised not by institutions but by the people who lived alongside his work? This talk invites audiences to consider how artistic legacies are shaped through resilience, community and belated recognition, and what Isson’s paintings reveal about the islands seen from within and emerging from shadows.