← main page

PENUMBRA Members Gallery | Lieh Sugai

Sugai’s black and white chemigrams and use of dynamic contrasts in pigment prints fluctuate within photography’s exquisite gradients of control. Relinquishing and harnessing is a material relationship that Sugai moves around throughout her work. Among inverted monotones, heavy middle grays, and carefully selected highlights, Sugai’s images push and pull light in a way that welcomes me to suspend disbelief. These indexical images of land, foliage and soaring birds are not planet Earth. These chemigrams are galaxies, sunsets, a shadow in a puddle of water. Sugai’s process and practice highlight the wonder and tension in relationships. From micro to social, from molecules to emotion, from entropy to photography, this series of work lays together the convoluted experience of responding to encounters with one's surroundings.

-Hernease Davis

While KAIKOU began as a reflection of reminiscence and nostalgia towards my home country, it evolved into a spiritual journey populated by memories that exist between reality and illusion. This body of work also represents a sense of emptiness, surrender, and acceptance of a greater force, such as nature and the universe.

In creating KAIKOU, I embraced the unpredictability of the chemigram process, allowing the natural reactions between chemicals and paper to guide the creation of each piece. This method mirrors the unpredictable nature of memory and the ways in which it can be both vivid and elusive. The resulting images serve as evidence of my encounters with the essence of "home" within my memories, captured through the delicate balance of light and shadow.

KAIKOU is not just a collection of images but a visual narrative that conveys my personal journey of seeking and reconstructing a sense of home. It speaks to the viewers about the power of memory and the profound connections between place, identity, and the natural world. Through this work, I invite others to reflect on their own experiences of home and the ways in which light and shadow shape their perceptions of the world.

This series is a testament to the enduring capacity of photography to capture and convey complex emotional landscapes. It highlights the authentic relationship I have with my practice and the ways in which art can serve as a bridge between past and present, intertwining personal history with creative expression. KAIKOU is a journey through light and shadow, memory and reality, ultimately leading to an encounter with the essence of home.

Artist Bio

Lieh Sugai is a Japanese-born visual artist based in New York who works with photography and video. Her subject matter is comprised of memories that occur between people and places, and how these are shaped by time, events and culture. To explore them, she uses her dual perspective as a Japanese immigrant whose home is also in America.

Lieh began her artistic journey studying Graphic Design at Pratt Institute, where she discovered a deep passion for photography. This medium has since become her primary means of navigating, expressing, and documenting diverse cultural landscapes. Her work seamlessly blends conceptual and documentary practices, offering a rich exploration of cultural intersections.

In recognition of her talent, Lieh was awarded the 2024 En Foco Photography Fellowship and named a finalist in the Penumbra Foundation 2024 Workspace Program. Her work has been showcased at prestigious venues such as Foley Gallery in New York, Les Rencontres d’Arles in France, and 10 14 Gallery in London. Additionally, her photography has been featured in notable publications including The Washington Post and Fisheye Magazine.

← previous