Umi Ishihara takes a deep-dive into Tokyo's strip clubs

Umi Ishihara has had a lifelong fascination with nightlife. During the film director’s childhood, her dad was a party promoter in Tokyo. He was also a free rave pioneer in Japan in the 1990s. Her mum worked nights in a gentlemen’s bar. 'When I was a kid, I didn’t know people woke up in the morning as all my family got up really late,' she laughs, when we speak ahead of her solo show ‘Nocturnal Animals’, currently on at Gasworks in London.

'I was really familiar with this lifestyle. I grew up surrounded by drug dealers, dancers and DJs. It strongly affected my being.' In 2024, she graduated from Goldsmiths with an MA in Artist’s Film & Moving Image. In her films and art installations, she rejects a purely euphoric view of nightlife, also capturing its dark side. At the same time, she is interested in offering alternative queer or female perspectives and celebrating the communities that define club culture.

‘Nocturnal Animals’ draws upon Tokyo’s strip club scene. It includes a looped film with documentary and staged elements, as well as an installation. The film follows two Tokyo strippers who at times take on creature-like form, inspired by a recent spate of bears finding their way into Japan’s towns and cities at night. These roaming animals are at risk within an ever-expanding human world, but also a threat to individual lives. 'It’s a massive issue at the moment,' she tells me. 'I wanted to use that as a metaphor. These girls working in the strip club become nocturnal animals running around and eating men on the street.'

She tells me she had 'always wanted to make a film about women working in the night surrounded by alcohol and music' but until recently had not 'found the right girls' to cast. Around the time Gasworks approached her to commission a new work, she met a woman in a Tokyo nightclub who also works as a stripper. 'Her character stuck in my mind,' she tells me. Soon after, she went to visit the strip club, but her contact hadn’t arrived yet. While waiting, a line of dancers stood in front of the artist, and she was invited to choose one.

'From a female perspective, I felt it was rude to pick based on the women’s appearance,' she tells me. 'I asked a staff member ‘Can you introduce the craziest woman in the place?’' She was connected with a dancer who was ultimately cast as the second woman in the film. 'She is super crazy, but she’s also super organised. Both women are very special; they are really independent and very interested in culture.'

Ishihara is drawn to the nuances that run through nightlife, and stripping in particular. The exhibition explores a fine line between vulnerability and pleasure. 'They use their bodies, dance in really high heels, and drink. They are physically strong. During filming I realised it’s less about vulnerability and more about independence. They have both had tough lives but they’re very positive. In Japan they have ‘gyaru’ culture with crazy long eyelashes, sexy clothes, and lots of makeup. This culture is well known for positive identities.'

Alienation is a long-running theme for the artist, whose previous works have tapped into rave culture. She also organises parties in Tokyo and London and founded ‘Flatline City’ in 2022, an art project that brings together rave, education and community. 'Alienation is key for this work,' she says. 'These girls are alienated in a way but it’s also an entire community of women working in strip clubs. I have a similar approach to raving. I’m always interested in communities that are alienated by society.'

Umi Ishihara at Gasworks, London until 22 March