''I look for beauty in scenes that evoke a sense of longing and timelessness, two elements that are fundamental to my work.''
Sayuri Ichida (b. 1985, Japan) is a UK-based photographer whose practice focuses on themes of self-identity, reflecting on her own memories and life experiences. In her photographs, she explores the complexities of emotional states by portraying the human form and sculptural objects. Working across portraiture and landscape, Ichida creates quiet, atmospheric images in which the human figure appears alongside natural and sculptural forms.
Ichida’s latest series, Playing the Piano Upstairs, centres on the artist’s relationship with her sister, reflecting on shared childhood, loss, and the gradual reconfiguration of familial bonds. Set against the landscape of their hometown of Niigata, Japan, this work draws on the region’s long winters and heavy snowfall, using softness and obscurity as visual metaphors for memory and duration.
After graduating from Tokyo Visual Arts College in 2006, Ichida began her career in the commercial photography industry, first in Tokyo and later in New York. In 2016, she shifted her focus to fine art photography, eventually leading her to the University of Westminster UK, where she completed an MA with Distinction in Photography Arts. Ichida currently lives and works in Margate, her work has been recognized at numerous exhibitions and awards internationally, including the Jerwood/Photoworks Awards (2024) and the Prix Nadar (2022.)