Deep Echo, 2023
Hannan Miya・First solo exhibition in Kyushu
DISTANCED RELATIONS
Exhibition period:
May 31 - July 7 2025
Hannan Miya
nevada, usa
exhibition in 2025
(Interdisciplinary Artist, Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno)
Born and raised in Kumamoto, Hannan emigrated to the United States in 1998 after working as a radiation technologist at a hospital for seven years.
Her practice aims to preserve stories that are almost forgotten or would otherwise be lost, especially ones of Japanese immigrants. She has actively shown her work in many solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. Hannan is a recipient of the Franklin Research Fellowship by American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA in 2025 and the Nevada Council Artist Fellowship in 2023. Her artist's book, "Three Poems Disrupting a Language," a collaboration project with poet Bill Kelly and Brighton Press in San Diego in 2017-2019, is now in the collections of 30 institutions including the Getty Research Institute, Harvard University, Library of Congress, and Stanford University. In 2012, she was commissioned by TEDxSan Diego to create an installation for their meeting. She also received the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award from Mesa College, San Diego.
"Deep Echo" 2023
"Deep Echo"
Soot on paper, tree brunches, bone ash; each drawing 81" x 29" (installation size varies); 2023
I view the world as one comprised of layers and linkages of history—a chain of lives and events that leads from one to the next. The landscape holds a record of these histories. Using images of nature and physical objects as narrative triggers, my artwork seeks to preserve stories of people and their histories that are nearly forgotten or at risk of being lost.
The piece presented is part of the research-based art project “Crossing the Ocean,” which began with my accidental discovery of grave sites belonging to Japanese workers who crossed the ocean to America around 1900 to build the railroads. Across the world, countless immigrants have crossed oceans in search of a better life. Reflecting on the hope, expectation, and fear they carried, I feel a deep connection—as an immigrant who also crossed the Pacific seeking a better future. This project is a reminder of the Japanese workers who were never able to return to their homeland, and of their voices, now hidden within the ocean.
Hannan Miya
I have been fascinated by Miya’s thought processes, ephemeral artwork, incredible work ethic, and philosophical perspectives since I met her at the University of Nevada, Reno, around 9 years ago. Miya’s work is a meditation on mortality and the ephemeral nature of existence, shaped by her early experiences in the medical field and, even earlier, by the death of her grandfather. Her work invites viewers into this delicate space, where memory and spirit are held gently in the balance.
In her recent series Deep Echoes, Miya presents soot drawings of solitary chairs—symbols of presence marked by absence. These quiet portraits suggest the lingering traces of those no longer there. Her choice of soot as a medium is both intentional and deeply resonant: the
residue of fire, soot embodies transformation, loss, and memory. Drawing with breath and smoke, she captures the intangible and the ephemeral, using a material born of destruction to create delicate, haunting images. The result is a body of work that invites reflection on
impermanence and the unseen impressions we leave behind.
By Frances Melhop
DISTANCED RELATIONS
Solo Exhibition
Hannan Miya
Exhibition Period: 5/31 to 7/7 (2025)
Place: Exhibiton Gallery Space
Time: Fridays, Saturdays an Sundays
13:00 - 19:00
※ Entry until 18:00
※ 1st weekend only Saturday and Sunday
Entry Fee: Free
For any inquiries, please email us at:
Flyer Download
Event Details:
Part1 Artist Talk（14：00～15：00）
Hannan Miya
×
Frances Melhop
Part2 Networking Event（15：10～16：00）
Hannan Miya
×
Frances Melhop
Place: AIR motomoto Exhibiton Gallery Space
Date & Time: May, 31, 2025 Sunday
14:00 - 16:00
Limit: 15 participants
Entry Fee: Free
Event Reservation Required
To make a reservation, please send the following information to kumamotomotomoto@gmail.com.
1. Name
2. Number of people
3. Telephone number you can be reached at on that day.
※ If there is a space available you can come without reservation.
Frances Melhop
nebada, usa
(Visual artist, Curator, and Gallery Director)
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, Melhop lives and works in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in the United States of America.