WE ARE; The RPS Women in Photography Magazine March 2022

The Final View

an Interview with Sayuri Ichida

Photos by Sayuri Ichida

Sayuri Ichida is a London-based Japanese artist working in photography. Ichida’s practice focuses on themes of self-identity, reflecting her own memory and life experience. In her photographs, she explores the complexities of emotional state by portraying the human form. She also examines ideas of loss and mortality by utilising photo archives.

After graduating from Tokyo Visual Arts College in 2006, she began her career in the commercial photography industry; first in Tokyo, and later in New York. In 2015, she decided to shift her focus to art photography, eventually leading her to the University of Westminster where she completed an MA in Photography Arts in 2021.

Her work has been recognised at numerous exhibitions and has received multiple awards. She won the Japan Photo Award in 2016 for her Deja Vu series - inspired by the memory of her childhood doll’s house. Her series Mayu - named after a Japanese ballet dancer - was selected for several group shows presented at Unseen Photo Festival (Amsterdam, 2018), Photo Saint Germain (Paris, 2018), IMA Gallery (Tokyo, 2018), and Asama International Photo Festival (Nagano, 2019). Her work featuring Gabrielle Chanel’s Paris apartment was on exhibit at IMA Gallery as part of CHANEL’s Mademoiselle Privéshow in Tokyo. She was selected to participate in the group show, TODAY is - Next generations of DAIDO MORIYAMA in 2019.

Teri Walker interviewed Sayuri for WE ARE Magazine.

WIP: Hello Sayuri, thank you for taking time to participate in an interview for WE ARE Magazine. Can you please start by sharing with us why you became a photographer?

Thank you so much for inviting me. I am honoured to be part of this issue.

I was fifteen years old when I started taking pictures on my first film SLR camera. My father bought this camera for his work to make photographic records of defects found in air conditioning systems at a nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture. He also had a habit of taking pictures on a disposable camera, not only of our family events but also ordinary moments, such as my mother hanging the laundry, me working on my homework, to name a few. And he used to let me take family portrait pictures on occasions like family trips. I naturally gained the belief of becoming a photographer from these experiences, and I have followed the path I envisioned as a child ever since.

WIP: Which photographers have influenced you over the years?

The beauty and simplicity in Harry Callahan’s works have influenced my work. Callahan’s experimentation with lines of his subjects depicts sculptural elements in his photographs, which signifies other motifs. One of his most notable works, Weed Against Sky (1948), is a good example. While the title states it is a plant, it could be seen as female thighs. Some images from my new series Absentee have his influence; for instance, a close-up shot of my limbs resembles a mountain range.

Francesca Woodman’s self-portraiture is another influence on my Absentee series. I started working on this series in the middle of the first significant lockdown in 2020, and because of self-isolation I began to photograph myself in my personal space. I admire Woodman’s way of portraying the female body from a woman’s viewpoint. As her work reflects her psychological state by displaying eerie poses while employing curves of the female body, Absentee is a photographic documentation of my emotional state during the global pandemic.

Shōji Ueda’s cinematic imageries inspired my collaboration with a ballet dancer, which resulted in my series named after her, Mayu. Ueda’s famous dune series depicts surrealistic scenes which resemble Salvador Dali’s paintings. Also, his perspective composition is reminiscent of Edward Hopper’s paintings. I studied the spatial relationship between the background and the subject through his work.

WIP: You began your formal training in Japan before moving to the UK, via New York. What influence have the different cultures had on your work?

The influence of Daidō Moriyama has been significant in photography education in Japan and I was advised to mimic his shooting methods during my study. Therefore, my early practice began with snapshots of people on the street in Tokyo (mainly homeless people).

My mother was a big fan of American culture, so I grew up watching American movies and listening to American pop music. For this reason, I even had a nostalgic feeling when I moved to New York. Some people told me that the colours in Deja Vu - one of my first series - is reminiscent of the New Color Photography movement, and I think American cultural influence is the reason.

WIP: Why did you make the move from commercial to art photography?

After finishing my photography course in Tokyo, I pursued becoming a fashion photographer. However, I did not find myself a good fit in the industry because I simply could not keep up with how quickly fashion comes and goes. And I was sad to see that fashion photography follows the same short cycle. I genuinely wanted to create something more lasting. Also, I wished to connect with my audience through visual narratives in my work which I found difficult to achieve with commercial photography.

WIP: Have there been any particular challenges to being a woman photographer that you've had to overcome?

Having been in the photography industry, I have encountered situations in which I was the only female crew. And I experienced being excluded from meetings simply because the rest of the team believed that having a female member in the male team is awkward. Sadly, this kind of situation is still very evident in Japanese society - where sexism has historically been deeply embedded in the culture. Fortunately, with the younger generation, things are beginning to change. But being a woman photographer can be an advantage as well. There is a sensibility that comes through in my work that derives from my experience as a woman.

WIP: What advice would you give to young women just starting out in the photography industry?

It may sound cliché, but my advice would be to be honest in their work and to themselves: be unafraid of taking risks and ignore the noise.

WIP: Do you have new work or exhibits coming up in 2022 that you can share with us?

My project titled after my mother’s name Fumiko won a solo exhibition prize as part of PhMmuseum 2021 the Women Photographers Grant. The exhibition will be held at PhMmuseum Lab in Bologna in Spring. The dates will be announced soon. My mother passed away from lung cancer in 2006 at the age of 47. I have wanted to photograph her and, because she is not here, with this project I composed her portrait using archival materials from my family album. For me personally, the project is also a response to processing her death. In addition, I aim to self-publish an artist book with this project this year.

I also plan to release the second edition of my book Absentee, and my Mayu series will be on view at Tennoz Fureai Bridge as part of Tennoz Art Festival 2022 in Tokyo between 1 st and 31 st March.

Website: www.sayuriichida.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ the_final_view/