The disappearance of a “third place” distinct from home and work has led many curators to acknowledge the need for spaces that foster community and creativity within the accelerating rhythms of everyday life. The upcoming exhibition Terminal, produced by Galen Bullivant, is a collaboration between nomadic gallery Satellite and Datsuijo project space – “a ten-foot hut” in Yanaka, Tokyo. It brings together the visions of Siam Coy from London and Yuka Hirac from Tokyo. Through a blend of street and portrait photography, prosthetics, make-up artistry, and puzzle pieces, the exhibition offers a moment of calm, inviting the audience to reflect on ideas of dystopia, metamorphosis, and the strangeness of the mundane.

Siam Coy began his journey as a street photographer at 15, evolving into a multidisciplinary artist known for his poignant portrait photography, which has been featured in numerous magazines. For Terminal, Siam revisits work created with Noa Senderowicz, who contributed prosthetics and creative direction. Initially titled Dystopia, the project depicts figures drifting around dreamlike urban spaces, post-industrial landscapes, and dimly-lit corridors. “I was looking for a hobby to go along with skating and just being outdoors,” Siam recalls. “Street photography spoke to me the most because I didn’t feel limited and I could make mistakes.” His tone is understated, even casual, matching his effortlessly cool portraits that burst with quiet tension and eroticism.

Siam’s influences stem from friends who share his passion for photography, as well as other mediums. “I make music on the side and often try to incorporate it into my work. Sometimes my work contains references to music; for example, the title Death makes angels of us all… is a lyric from a song by The Doors, which I thought was apt for the image.” Notable recent subjects include John Akokmfrah for Plaster Magazine and Klein for Interlope Magazine.

“Strange things stimulate my imagination,” says Yuka Hirac. Her work is characterised by her “ugly beauty” aesthetic, finding allure in discomfort and imperfection. Growing up in Fukuoka and living in London from 2006 to 2013, it wasn‘t until she returned to Tokyo that she noticed the strangeness of the big city. ”Tokyo is grey, complicated, and eerie,” she says. “As someone from the countryside, it looks like a strange cell, and within this environment, fantasies of artificial beauty and traditionally ‘human’ ideas of beauty overlap.”

The exhibition features work from her latest photo book, Metabolism, which explores the blurred lines between reality and unreality. Its subtitle, ‘The Beginning of Hallucinations’, reflects her concerns about the indistinguishability of truth and fantasy. “I am scared that the distinction is becoming increasingly blurred”, Yuka explains. “It also delves into the spiritual, expressing our daily struggle with memories and trauma, as well as our desire to escape them through inner and outer transformation.”

Yuka enrolled on a make-up course at the London College of Fashion in 2006 and, upon graduating, connected with photographers she admired and collaborated with them. “I was really into performance art and inspired by events held in clubs, churches, and by the club kids,” she recalls. She believes that the people she encountered during that time continue to influence her work.

Her perspective on beauty is deeply influenced by the Buddhist concept of ‘impermanence’ (mujō), which emphasises that all things are in constant flux. Yuka‘s fascination with metamorphosis, online and offline, is also reminiscent of her childhood fascination with insects. “I don’t know if it’s because of where I‘m from, but I love nature. When I was little, I wanted to be an insect researcher, and I would watch insects all day long. The way they change in order to survive is both brave and beautiful,” she concludes. “There is no such thing as one ‘beauty’, and my view of beauty changes every year. I find beauty in things that never retain the same form twice.”

TERMINAL runs Friday 7 and Saturday 8 June at Datsuijo Gallery Space in Yanaka, Tokyo.