Kanamori's earlier works deal with themes relating to subculture and minority groups, especially within Japan and Australia.
In 1996 at Japan Foundation Sydney Gallery, Kanamori first exhibited her series of documentary photographs of Japanese subcultures, Unseen Faces of Japan: photographs taken during her previous thee years in Japan, whilst working for Australian publications, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Good Weekend (Sydney Morning Herald).
Kanamori began creating her narrative works utilising audio interviews with The Heart of the Journey (2000) when she collaborated with ABC Radio National to produce a radio documentary about an Bardi-Jawi woman Lucy Dann from Broome, Western Australia, who was seeking to find her biological father Tamotsu Tsutsui.
The Heart of the Journey was later produced in a performance context including projected photographs and live narration by the artist, and was presented by arts festivals throughout Austral-Asia.
Kanamori's video art works use series of still photographs as its base, and have included experimental works in collaboration with dancers and musicians whilst others include community based documentary work in collaboration with children and young people, as well as photographic essays with loose narratives such in Judy and Alan (2004), finalist for 2005 Harries National Digital Awards.