“A sense of identity” rather than “identity”.

Untold Voices began with several vintage family photographs that Chieska Fortune Smith discovered at her family home in Japan.

Born to an African-American soul singer and a Japanese classical dancer, Fortune Smith has carried a sense of not having a solid grounding since her childhood. By collecting the haunting yet enigmatic moments of everyday life and her vintage family photographs which trace back three generations of her family, she evokes a melancholy as fleeting as a mirage, and transforms them into an exploration of her own roots.

”I’ve never really known how to use my voice. When I picked up a camera, I felt like it was the first time I could express myself, my thoughts and my emotions so accurately and honestly. I don’t know if I was consciously aware that the way I was taking photographs and that the images I chose to capture were influenced by my heritage and my roots. Perhaps the family photos I was surrounded by as a child had seeped into my subconscious and flowed out into my lens. In any case, this is my view; this is my world as I see it."

First edition of 700 copies.

Special edition of 15 copies comes with Japanese artisanal slipcase and original print <googly eyes, 15 x 16.5 cm>. Signed and numbered by artist.

24.10.2026
Book launch at Tenderbooks in London

13.11.2026
Book signing at Polycopies in Paris

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Chieska Fortune Smith is an African-American/Japanese artist based in London. Her practice is deeply rooted in her unique heritage and inspired by old photographs of her parents' early life and courtship, as well as vintage found imagery. After studying international relations and Japanese art history, Fortune Smith lived in Japan for eight years, where she began experimenting with street photography and documenting her close relationships with family and friends. Her photography appears regularly in publications including  Vanity Fair, Wallpaper, Rolling Stone, AnOther and commercial clients include Simone Rocha, Roksanda Illincic, and Wales Bonner.