Untitled.Showa

LOCATION: Level 2 Central Park Mall, 28 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008

Untitled.Showa is an evolving and interactive photographic project through a collection of old photographs from Japan, found in Australia, to solve a historic puzzle with the view to collectively finding ways to (re)patriate the original prints to the family, the copyright holder or to an appropriate archive. Audiences are invited to participate in the unfolding of a contemporary story, and in real time, make new meanings for the once lost photographs.

Japanese Australian artist Mayu Kanamori purchased at a flea market, more than 300 photographs of Japanese people, photographed in Japan between 1930s-60s, with the viewpoint to return them. The stall holder told her that they were from a deceased estate in Geelong, Victoria, but that was all he knew. During the COVID lockdown, with support from their local Inner West Council, the photographs were digitised, and Japanese Australian web developer and designer Chie Muraoka created an interactive website calling for those interested to help them online.

Untitled.Showa Sydney Exhibition & Project Launch Program

Exhibition Dates & Times: 13 April - 30 May, 10am-8pm daily
Project Launch: Thursday 15 April, 6pm-8pm
Workshop Dates: Tuesday 20 April, 6-8pm and Tuesday 4 May 6-8pm

Untitled.Showa's 2021 program includes exhibitions and workshops in Sydney, Geelong and Kyoto.

Untitled.Showa is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and partners 107 Projects, Arthere, Geelong Library & Heritage Centre, Midori-kai Japanese Association of Geelong Inc, Nikkei Australia, Vision Image Lab and the Mutsumi Tsuda Laboratory, School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University.