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Sayaka Uehara "The Shore Before"
Misa Shin Gallery
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Artists
Sayaka Uehara
MISA SHIN GALLERY is pleased to present Mae no hama (The Shore Before), a solo exhibition by Uehara Sayaka, on view from January 31 to February 28, 2026. This exhibition introduces a new body of work in conjunction with Uehara’s first solo exhibition at a public art institution, Even If All the Ruins Were Swept Away without a Trace, which opens on January 24, 2026 at Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino. Mae no hama (The Shore Before) is a series of black-and-white photographs documenting a short journey Uehara
undertook over several days, including June 23, Okinawa’s Memorial Day.
On this date, when commemorative ceremonies are held at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman City, southern Okinawa Island, regarded as the site marking the end of the Battle of Okinawa, Uehara deliberately travels in reverse, toward the shoreline where U.S. forces first landed and where the battle is considered to have begun. This act is not merely a revisiting of historical trauma as something confined to the past; rather, it visually interrogates how the wounds of the Battle of Okinawa continue to transform and exert their influence into the present.
After returning to Okinawa Island, the artist passes expansive U.S. military bases and heads toward a shopping mall overlooking the western coast of Urasoe City, a planned relocation site for a military port. As she watches the sunset and photographs the lights of the city at night, she travels south along National Route 58, passes near a Self-Defense Forces base, and eventually returns once more to her own room.
The word “Mae” (before/in front of) in the title Mae no Hama (The Shore Before) does not refer solely to spatial orientation. It also evokes the temporality inherent in photography itself—as a medium that functions as an apparatus for attesting to the existence of the past. The photographs taken over the course of several days carefully gather traces of cruelty and subtle signs of instability, coalescing into an action that oscillates like waves between past and present, private space and island landscapes, the living and the dead.
This work consists of approximately 200 photographs accompanied by captions. At Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, the series is presented in a slideshow format alongside representative works from earlier periods, offering a diachronic overview of Uehara’s practice. At MISA SHIN GALLERY, a selection of prints chosen by the artist is exhibited, creating a space that invites close, contemplative engagement with each individual photograph. By presenting the same series through different formats, the two venues together open the work to multilayered interpretations.
undertook over several days, including June 23, Okinawa’s Memorial Day.
On this date, when commemorative ceremonies are held at Peace Memorial Park in Itoman City, southern Okinawa Island, regarded as the site marking the end of the Battle of Okinawa, Uehara deliberately travels in reverse, toward the shoreline where U.S. forces first landed and where the battle is considered to have begun. This act is not merely a revisiting of historical trauma as something confined to the past; rather, it visually interrogates how the wounds of the Battle of Okinawa continue to transform and exert their influence into the present.
After returning to Okinawa Island, the artist passes expansive U.S. military bases and heads toward a shopping mall overlooking the western coast of Urasoe City, a planned relocation site for a military port. As she watches the sunset and photographs the lights of the city at night, she travels south along National Route 58, passes near a Self-Defense Forces base, and eventually returns once more to her own room.
The word “Mae” (before/in front of) in the title Mae no Hama (The Shore Before) does not refer solely to spatial orientation. It also evokes the temporality inherent in photography itself—as a medium that functions as an apparatus for attesting to the existence of the past. The photographs taken over the course of several days carefully gather traces of cruelty and subtle signs of instability, coalescing into an action that oscillates like waves between past and present, private space and island landscapes, the living and the dead.
This work consists of approximately 200 photographs accompanied by captions. At Yokohama Civic Art Gallery Azamino, the series is presented in a slideshow format alongside representative works from earlier periods, offering a diachronic overview of Uehara’s practice. At MISA SHIN GALLERY, a selection of prints chosen by the artist is exhibited, creating a space that invites close, contemplative engagement with each individual photograph. By presenting the same series through different formats, the two venues together open the work to multilayered interpretations.
Schedule | Jan 31 (Sat) 2026-Feb 28 (Sat) 2026 Opening Hours Information
Opening Reception Jan 31 (Sat) 2026 17:00 - 19:00 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee | Free | ||||
| Website | https://www.misashin.com/en/exhibitions-en/uehara-sayaka-the-shore-before-en/ | ||||
| Venue | Misa Shin Gallery http://www.misashin.com/ | ||||
| Location | 1F 3-9-11 Minami Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0047 | ||||
| Access | 11 minute walk from exit 4 at Shirokane-takanawa Station on the Namboku or Toei Mita line, 11 minute walk from exit 1 at Azabu-juban Station on the Namboku or Toei Oedo line, 11 minute walk from exit 1 at Hiroo Station on the Hibiya line. | ||||
| Phone | 03-6450-2334 | ||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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