KYOTOGRAPHIE 2026 Related Exhibition: Sari Shibata “COSMO PLASTICS”

A solo exhibition by KYOTOGRAPHIE 2026 exhibiting artist Sari Shibata, titled “COSMO PLASTICS,” is currently being held at the Tojo Kaikan Institute of Photography in Tokyo.

Shibata’s practice explores the relationship between humans and nature, environmental transformation, and the impacts of global capitalism. She gained attention through “Anthropocene Plastics,” presented at KG＋SELECT, a satellite programme of KYOTOGRAPHIE International Photography Festival in 2024, and in 2025 she received the Ruinart Japan Award at the KYOTOGRAPHIE Portfolio Review.

This exhibition is presented in conjunction with her main programme exhibition “Dotok Days” at KYOTOGRAPHIE 2026, and takes the form of a new installation that further develops “Anthropocene Plastics” through additional shooting.

Petroleum is formed over hundreds of millions of years as ancient plants and animals transform deep within the earth. From this petroleum, humans produce plastic, which overflows from modern life and flows into the ocean. Drifting through marine environments, these materials are gradually reshaped by natural forces such as wind, waves, and sunlight, eventually transforming into substances that take on an almost organic presence. Shibata collects these fragments on Rishiri Island and places them among the island’s diverse volcanic rocks, documenting them through photography.

Rather than framing humans and nature as opposing forces, her work reflects a sensibility that human activity itself exists within the vast flow of the Earth’s deep time. Photography, as a medium that captures existence through light and isolates a moment in time and space, reveals fragments of temporal scales that extend beyond human perception.

If you are nearby, we warmly invite you to visit.

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Sari Shibata “COSMO PLASTICS”
Dates: April 4 (Sat) – June 7 (Sun), 2026
Hours: 13:00–18:30 (until 19:30 on Thu & Fri)
Open: Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun & Public Holidays
Venue: Tojo Kaikan Institute of Photography (Tokyo)
Admission: Free
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Sari Shibata
Born and raised in the mountains of Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, Shibata began photography using her grandfather’s camera to capture landscapes. After graduating from the College of Contemporary Psychology at Rikkyo University, she worked in the financial division of a major IT company, where she developed an interest in the structures of global capitalism. In 2022, she co-founded a company with her partner. In 2025, she began living between Tokyo and Nanto City and established the traditional house art space “OSHITOPIA.” Following the Noto Peninsula earthquake, she has been operating it as a base to reconsider regional perspectives often overlooked by urban centres.