ZEN FOTO GALLERY

Dates: Nov 11 (Wed) – Nov 15 (Sun), 2026
Venue: Grand Palais, Paris (Booth A06)

Zen Foto Gallery is pleased to announce its return to Paris Photo, held Wednesday, November 11th to Sunday, November 15th, 2026 at the Grand Palais, Paris.

Following its debut at Paris Photo in 2025 with Love of Shadows — Two Women’s Stories, Zen Foto Gallery returns for its second participation with a broader presentation bringing together six photographers whose work explores memory, history, identity, and lived experience across East Asia. Titled Photography as Witness, the presentation considers the ways photographers bear witness to moments of political upheaval, cultural transformation, intimate relationships, and everyday life.

Hitomi Watanabe’s University of Tokyo 1968–69—Behind the Blockade documents the University of Tokyo protests from inside the barricades, as the only photographer permitted inside. Two decades later, Kan Tai Wong’s ‘89 Tiananmen captures the 1989 protests and their lingering aftermath.

Moving from political history to cultural memory, Shoko Hashimoto’s Goze documents the disappearing tradition of blind female musicians who travelled throughout rural Japan. Tamiko Nishimura’s My Journey, My Journey II and Eternal Chase capture fleeting encounters and changing landscapes across Japan since the 1970s.

Turning toward more intimate forms of witnessing, Hideka Tonomura’s They Called Me Yukari, Orange Elephant, and Mama Love explore femininity and motherhood through her experiences as a hostess in Kabukicho, Tokyo’s nightlife and entertainment district, her search for true love, and her act of protest against patriarchy alongside her mother. Yang Seung-Woo’s Shinjuku Lost Child delves into the people and subcultures of Kabukicho, while The Best Days traces his life between Japan and Korea, from friendships and loss to the underground worlds he encountered.

Together, these six bodies of work demonstrate photography’s ability to bear witness to history, cultural change, and the intimate realities of individual lives. Photography as Witness reflects Zen Foto Gallery’s ongoing commitment to presenting distinctive voices in Asian photography and exploring the medium’s capacity to preserve both personal and collective memory.