Kanako Ishii’s interest lays in the analysis of metaphysical borders such as past – present, remembered – forgotten or presence – absence. 
She calls these metaphysical borders “grey sensations”.
Metaphorically, she senses these borders as grey nuances. Even though achromatic colours like grey are usually seen as a composition of black and white, Ishii regards grey as a mixture of multiple colours.
When she encounters those grey boundaries, she captures them from various angles – through curtains, from a distance, or from heights of different people. She sees her camera finder functioning as a “window” – the eyes of implied individuals. No matter how much detail the images captured, Ishii senses that there is something like a thin “curtain” draped over them – the memories attached.
Her works are often installation pieces, portraying impressions that she gathered. They are artefacts from the dream-like memory, transcending between time and space. Her body of works is constantly growing and becoming an archive of the “grey sensations” that she has collected.