Siân Davey: The Garden : Michael Hoppen Gallery at Studio 35 Minutes, Tokyo

The Garden

In the depths of the pandemic in 2020, Siân Davey transformed her abandoned garden in the English countryside into a vibrant, intimate space, filled with wildflowers, bees, birdsong and people. Working in collaboration with her son Luke, they intensively researched native flowers and biodynamic techniques, to cultivate a space Davey describes as “grounded in love.” Sharing dreams and visions between each other and with people who they met across the garden wall, more visitors were drawn into the garden as the flowers began to emerge.

“As the garden evolved it became an expression of joy, interconnectedness, yearning, sexuality, and defiance. The garden became a metaphor for the human heart itself […] Everyone has a place in our garden.”

 

– Siân Davey

Michael Hoppen Gallery in Tokyo

Over the last 20 years the gallery has cultivated a specialism in Japanese photography, to establish one of the most foremost holdings of post-war work outside Asia. In proposing to bring our gallery to Tokyo for the summer, we wish to reinforce our commitment to the community of artists, friends and colleagues who have supported our involvement with Japanese photography over the years. Bringing the work of one of our British photographers, Siân Davey, we hope to promote the spirit of inter-cultural exchange that has been the foundation of so many fruitful collaborations in the past two decades.

Studio 35 Minutes is an independent gallery space based in a former photography studio in Nakano, Tokyo. The gallery’s name is taken from the original shop sign, referring to the time taken to develop clients’ reels of film, but today the building functions as a gallery and bar. Studio 35 Minutes has hosted exhibitions by many of the contemporary Japanese artists who we continue to work with, including Yamatani Yusuke, Utsu Yumiko and Yamauchi Yu, and the role it plays as a nexus for the photography community made it feel like the right place for us to set up our gallery temporarily in Tokyo.

In the heat of the Japanese summer, we hope that The Garden will prove a green oasis, drawing in photography enthusiasts from across the city. We also look forward to hosting some special events with local artists who we represent, so please check our Instagram page for further details.