What would our world look like if the Showa period continued into the present? (Kazuyoshi USUI)
Showa 88–99 will be presented at 1839 Contemporary Gallery from April 10 to May 17, 2026. The exhibition showcases a four-part photographic series created over more than a decade, imagining a parallel world in which the Showa era never ended.
The series consists of Showa 88 (2011), Showa 92 (2015), Showa 96 (2019), and Showa 99 (2024).
Through this long-term project, USUI poses a fundamental question: What would our world look like if the Showa period continued into the present?
In response to contemporary Japanese society’s increasing standardization, regulation, and sterility, the artist reexamines the essence of living and the diminishing sense of fulfillment in everyday life.
Although set in a fictional parallel universe, the works are deeply rooted in documentary and folkloric approaches. They carefully observe cultures that are gradually disappearing, including the traditions of female spiritual mediums (Itako culture) and performance arts, transforming photography into a vessel of cultural memory.
Visually, the series is characterized by vivid, artificial, plastic-like colors and an intentionally “imperfect” atmosphere. Through this aesthetic, USUI presents the dual nature of life—the sacred and the profane, purity and impurity, life and death—not as oppositions, but as elements existing in harmony.
An opening and artist talk will be held on April 11 (Sat.) from 14:30 to 17:00, featuring a conversation between Kazuyoshi USUI and the Curator, Edward (I-Chien) CHIU, offering insights into the artist’s long-term practice and conceptual framework.
About Photographer: Kazuyoshi USUI
Born in Tokyo in 1975. After graduating from the Department of Photography at Tokyo Polytechnic University in 1998, he worked at Hakuhodo Photo Creative Inc. (now Hakuhodo Products) before going independent as a photographer in 2013.
In 2006 and 2011, he won the Grand Prize in the Advertising Works category of the APA Awards.
His photo books include “Macaroni Christian” (published by BijutsuShuppansha), “Showa 88”,“Showa 92”, “Showa 96” and “Showa 99” (published by Zen FotoGallery). “Showa 92” was nominated for the 41st Kimura IheiAward.
His work has been featured in “Aperture”, “American Suburb X”, “British Journal of Photography” and French Newspapers “Libération”.
In 2015, his first Documentary Film “The 14th Dalai Lama” which was completed after six years of close-up filming, was released nationwide starting at Theatre Shibuya Eurospace.
In addition, in 2019 he formed the collective “Photography? End?” with seven Japanese artists (Ken Kitano, Yuji Hamada, Miki Nitori, Risaku Suzuki, Kazuyoshi Usui, Yuki Onodera, and Naruki Oshima), and has been actively publishing books and holding exhibitions in France, Morocco, Hawaii, and other places.
《SHOWA 88-99》by Kazuyoshi USUI
Exhibition Period｜April 10-May 17, 2026
Opening｜Art Talk with Artist: Sat. April 11, 2026 14:30 – 17:00
Photo Talk｜Kazuyoshi USUI v.s. Edward CHIU (Curator)
Gallery Director｜ Edward, I-Chien CHIU (phD)
Organizer: 1839 Contemporary Gallery (specializing in photographic art gallery). What’s 1839? It mean the invention of photography in 1839)
Address: B1, No. 120, Yanji Street, Da’an District, Taipei City