ANTWERP.- IBASHO presents a solo exhibition by Takako Kido. ‘Skinship’ is a common term in Japan that describes the skin-to-skin, heart-to-heart connection between a mother and child, as well as among other close relatives. Kido was arrested in New York for producing what were deemed “controversial” photographs, yet she remains resolute in using her work to affirm the strength and necessity of family ties.
In Japan, skinship is considered essential to the healthy development of family relationships, particularly between parents and children. From breastfeeding to cuddling, piggyback rides, bathing together, co-sleeping and even play, these forms of physical closeness express and foster intimacy. Through loving touch, a child learns what it means to feel loved and, in turn, how to extend that love to others, fostering healthy development and strengthening family bonds. However, with the introduction of western parenting models during postwar Japan, these practices gradually lost popularity.
Takako Kido’s work seeks to show how human connection can be sustained in a divided world saturated with information. After graduating from the International Center of Photography in New York, she continued working there in a photo lab. During that time, she began a relationship with a man who had a son from a previous marriage. When photographs of their skinship were submitted to a local drugstore for processing, staff contacted the police upon seeing the family snapshots. Kido and her partner were detained and imprisoned at Rikers Island. Following their release, the family was deported from the United States and returned to Kido’s hometown of Kochi, Japan. The artist chose to channel this experience into her practice.
In Kido’s own words: “I had absolutely no idea that skinship could be perceived as shocking in other cultures. After my arrest, I wanted to demonstrate that it is rooted in universal feelings of love, warmth and safety. When my son Taiyo was born in 2012, skinship felt entirely natural to me. While breastfeeding, there were no boundaries between our bodies; a symbiotic union. It was a feeling of oneness that I never experienced with another person. While breastfeeding, when my son looked at me, it felt as if I were being observed by myself. I wanted to capture that feeling in self-portraits and in photographs of my growing son. Motherhood also freed me from constraints such as shame and the sexualisation of the female body. Creating this work has helped me process difficult experiences from my past.”
Artist’s book
To coincide with the exhibition, an artist’s book of the same title will be published by IBASHO in an edition of 250 copies, including 10 special editions. Both the regular and special editions will be available at the gallery and through the online bookshop. The special edition consists of numbered and signed copies, each accompanied by a unique work.
Skinship is on view from 21 March to 3 May 2026 at IBASHO in Antwerp.
Takako Kido (Japan, 1970) received a B.A. in Economics from Soka University (Japan) in 1993, and in 2003, graduated from the International Center of Photography (ICP, New York) full-time program. She is currently based in her hometown of Kochi in Japan. Her artistic practice is driven by a desire to understand and cherish what truly matters, alongside a sustained interest in portraying intimacy. The resulting work has been presented at international art fairs such as Paris Photo and exhibited at institutions and galleries including the Sprengel Museum Hannover (Germany), Candela Gallery (Virginia, USA), Foley Gallery (New York, USA) and the Griffin Museum of Photography (Massachusetts, USA). She is the recipient of the Women Photograph Grant (2022) and the LensCulture Summer Open Award (2022), and was a finalist for the Arnold Newman Prize (2023).
