Eugene Kangawa x A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE Paris Exhibition

Japanese multidisciplinary artist Eugene Kangawa and A-POC ABLE ISSEY MIYAKE are set to unveil a bold new collaborative project this autumn—a fusion of fine art and textile innovation that marks the culmination of a three-year creative dialogue.

The project will premiere in Paris in a special exhibition space conceived by award-winning architect Tsuyoshi Tane, with future showings in Tokyo and Osaka.

The collaboration began in 2021, when designer Yoshiyuki Miyamae and his A-POC ABLE team first encountered Kangawa’s evocative painting series, Light and shadow inside me, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo.

The artworks—created entirely through light and shadow on folded paper—sparked a series of workshops and explorations that ultimately led to a revolutionary textile concept.

At the heart of the exhibition is a newly developed ‘bit-level’ textile, inspired by the silver particles on photographic paper used in Kangawa’s monochrome photograms. The fabric achieves striking black-to-white gradients using only variations in weave density, without dyes or coloured threads—a first in the world of textile design.

The Paris exhibition, curated by Tane—renowned for his work on the Estonian National Museum and Paris’s Hôtel de la Marine—will showcase this fabric alongside test pieces, tools, and artworks that shaped the collaboration. Visitors can also join guided tours with Kangawa and Miyamae, as well as participate in an interactive workshop offering insight into the hands-on creative process.

Looking ahead, Kangawa’s Light and shadow inside me series will find a permanent home at the Eugene Museum, opening in Tabanan, Bali in 2026. Designed by acclaimed Indonesian architect Andra Matin, the museum will house over 15 installations in a purpose-built space spanning revitalised rice fields and handcrafted terracotta architecture.

This collaboration not only exemplifies the intersection of art, fashion, and material science, but also signals a deeper global dialogue between disciplines—redefining how we see, wear, and interact with visual culture.