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Elsa & Johanna Solo Exhibition
“Beyond the Shadows”
▼OPENING RECEPTION
May 31st (Saturday), 2025 | 17:00-18:00
*Cocktails will be served in the artist's absence
■Period
May 31st (Saturday), 2025 - June 28th (Saturday), 2025 *period extended until July 5 (Sat)
Wed-Sat 13:00-18:00 (closed on Suns, Mon, Tue, and National Holidays)
*irregularly closed on June 20 (Fri) and June 27 (Fri)
■Venue
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY
2-7-5-5F, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031
□Cooperation
Galerie La Forest Divonne／T3 Photo Festival Tokyo
First Floor
from the series Beyond the Shadows
2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 1067 × 1600 mm
courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY
KANA KAWANISHI PHOTOGRAPHY is pleased to announce “Beyond the Shadows,” a solo exhibition by Elsa & Johanna, opening May 31, 2025.
Elsa & Johanna is an artist duo consisting of Elsa Parra and Johanna Benaïnous. Based in Paris, the duo intersects photography, performance, and video, using themselves as subjects to create a staged world that resembles a cinematic narrative.
This exhibition, “Beyond the Shadows,” showcases a series created during a one-month residency in Calgary, located in northern Canada. The artists were immediately captivated by Canada, particularly Calgary, one of the country’s largest cities, which was a cowboy town until the 1970s. Calgary served as an ideal source of inspiration for the duo, as the city has undergone spectacular economic growth and now boasts a population of over a million.
Calgary is now a world-class economic center with a population of nearly 1.4 million people and is home to many companies in the oil, natural gas, tourism, and, more recently, technology and clean tech sectors. With the steep Rocky Mountains rising behind the rolling hills that were once home to wild buffalo, the city embraces a diverse array of stories within its landscape.
During their month-long stay, the duo immersed themselves in the creation of their own fiction, taking on every role from location scouting and styling to preparing accessories and playing character roles, and created a total of 84 works. Moving freely among people of all ages and genders, they wove stories that were domestic, intimate, social, and poetic, blurring the line between fiction and reality.
We cordially invite all to see the works by the artist duo who are showcasing works now worldwide.
*This exhibition is a re-organized version of the works showcased in the T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO 2023 exhibition.
 “Less Home”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 600 × 900 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |  “Theorem”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 600 × 900 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
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 “Mother and Daughter”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 800 × 1200 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |  “The Sunnyside”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 800 × 1200 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
 “Millarville”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 1080 × 720 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |  “The True Life Story”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 600 × 400 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
 “Red Squirrel”from the series “Beyond the Shadows” | 2019 | edition of 5 + 2AP | semi-matt inkjet printing | 600 × 900 mm | courtesy Galerie La Forest Divonne/KANA KAWANISHI GALLERY |
Artist Statement
We were immediately drawn to Canada, and in particular to Calgary;
one of the largest cities in the country, which was initially a cowboy town until the 1970s.
With its spectacular economic growth, it now has over a million inhabitants.
We were like sponges that absorb landscapes and spit out a coloured liquid as soon as you squeeze them.
Elsa & Johanna
Artist Profile
Elsa & Johanna
Elsa & Johanna is an artist duo formed by French artists Elsa Parra (b. 1990) and Johanna Benaïnous (b. 1991) in 2014.
Their recent solo exhibitions include “Climbing into Another Skin” (2024, Mai Manó House, Budapest), “Chronicles of the Ordinary” (2024, Galerie La Forest Divonne, Paris), “A Couple of Them” (2023, Pont Saint-Ange, Paris), and “The Plural Life of Identity” (2022, Museum of Karlsruhe, Germany). Group exhibitions and photo festivals include “T3 PHOTO FESTIVAL TOKYO” (2023, Tokyo), “Entres les Mondes” (2022, Castle of Santo Estêvão, Lisbon, Portugal), “Je te laisse les clefs” (2021, H Gallery, Paris), “Festival Photo Saint-Germain + Photo Days” (2020, Galerie La Forest Divonne, Paris), and “Not So Crazy Girls” (2020, Espace Futur, Paris).
In 2020, they were shortlisted for the Discovery Award at the Rencontres d'Arles and published their first monograph, Beyond the Shadows. They will also design a new train station for the city of Paris, scheduled to open in 2026.
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