Japan House London has announced its first dedicated photography exhibition with Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai – previously announced as Invisible – opening on 3 June 2026.
Bringing together two major voices in Japanese photography, the exhibition pairs post-war pioneer Kawada Kikuji with contemporary photographer Iwane Ai in a powerful intergenerational dialogue that spans Hiroshima, Hawaii and the Tōhoku region.
Directed by the team behind Kyoto’s internationally acclaimed Kyotographie International Photography Festival, this marks the first time the two photographers have exhibited together.
Who Is Kawada Kikuji? Post-War Memory And The Photobook ‘Chizu’
Born in 1933, Kawada Kikuji emerged during Japan’s period of reconstruction following the Second World War. A founding member of the influential VIVO collective in the 1960s, Kawada redefined documentary photography in Japan through abstraction, symbolism and experimentation.
His landmark 1965 photo book Chizu (The Map) remains one of Japan’s most important photographic publications. Abstract and haunting, it captured the psychic and physical scars of Hiroshima through fragmented imagery and layered surfaces.
The Japan House London exhibition features works from Chizu alongside selections from Los Caprichos (1968–1981), a series that marked a decisive shift away from earlier documentary traditions. Kawada’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at MoMA in New York, and in 2011 he received a lifetime achievement award from the Photographic Society of Japan.
The selection has been curated by Sayaka Takahashi of PGI gallery, Tokyo.
Iwane Ai: Transnational Narratives And Contemporary Japan
Born in 1975, Iwane Ai represents a later generation of Japanese photographers whose work explores migration, memory and cultural identity across borders.
Her award-winning series Kipuka (2018) documents Japanese communities in Hawaii with ancestral ties to Fukushima. The project investigates displacement and resilience, positioning diaspora narratives within a broader historical frame.
Also on view is A New River (2020), created in the Tōhoku region during the COVID-19 pandemic. Featuring nocturnal cherry blossom scenes inhabited by folkloric figures, the series reflects on isolation, renewal and the cyclical nature of hope. The blending of myth and documentary gives the work an ethereal quality while remaining grounded in lived experience.
Iwane’s practice bridges journalism, fine art and cultural anthropology, and her work has been exhibited at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum and internationally.
Kyotographie Festival Comes To London
Founded in 2013, the Kyotographie International Photography Festival has grown into one of Asia’s most significant photography events, welcoming nearly 300,000 visitors in 2025. Held each spring across historic venues in Kyoto, the festival is known for its thoughtful curatorial approach and global outlook.
The Japan House London exhibition represents the festival team’s first UK project. Both Kawada and Iwane have previously featured in the Kyoto festival programme, in 2024 and 2022 respectively, but this marks their first joint presentation.
Kyotographie: Kawada Kikuji x Iwane Ai is accompanied by a series of events inspired by the photographers and the themes from their works.
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