Ichida, Sayuri: CTRL SHIFT +J (limited edition, signed copies)

“I constantly wonder where I belong. This series explores the psychological imprint of the migration and uprooting that have shaped my life. The title is inspired by the keyboard shortcut I use to type in Japanese—an indirect allusion to my origins.

The series draws on my personal history: my family was uprooted just as I was starting elementary school. When my father was transferred to Niigata Prefecture—over 1,000 km from our hometown—he took us far from the big city to a rural town. Our strong Kyushu accent (from the southern region) marked us as outsiders. Adapting was difficult for all of us. These repeated moves during my childhood left me unable to put down roots, creating a persistent sense of dissonance with any place I inhabited. This fracture, and the resulting quest for belonging, became the core of my identity.

A few years ago, a DNA test revealed an unexpected trace of British ancestry. This discovery led me—almost by chance—to the homeland of my enigmatic great-great-grandfather. In this unforeseen connection, I find an echo of his experience as a stranger in a foreign land, mirroring my own exile in the United Kingdom.

The series brings together a variety of subjects: architectural fragments, an old passport photo of my grandfather, the faces of unknown relatives in the family album... Incongruous geometric shapes emerge within the images to amplify this sense of not belonging, unsettling the viewer with their strangeness.

With *Ctrl Shift + J*, I invite the viewer to look inward and confront their own experiences of displacement and the search for a place where they can truly be themselves.” Sayuri Ichida

Title: CTRL SHIFT +J
Publisher, Year: the (M) éditions & Ibasho , 2025

Author: Ichida, Sayuri
Photographer: Ichida, Sayuri

Graphic Design: Tomasz Laczny
Format: Leporello hardback

Edition: 500
Size: 21 x 17 cm, 50 pages