Sayuri Ichida’s deeply personal series Playing the Piano Upstairs makes its London debut in the Print Sales Gallery at The Photographers’ Gallery, running from 3 July to 13 September 2026. This exhibition marks a significant return to colour for the UK-based Japanese photographer after years of working in monochrome, presenting luminous handcrafted prints that explore memory, grief, and the rebuilding of familial bonds.
Memory, Grief and Sisterhood in Rural Japan
The Story Behind Playing the Piano Upstairs
Playing the Piano Upstairs documents Ichida’s relationship with her sister, Phoka, in the years following their mother’s death. The series was photographed in their hometown region of Niigata, one of Japan’s snowiest areas, where the sisters slowly rebuilt a fragile but enduring closeness after losing their mother in their late teens. The title draws from a childhood memory of hearing her sister practising the piano upstairs, a sound that stayed with her over the years.
Across the series, her sister appears in quiet, atmospheric images alongside natural and sculptural forms, set within the snow-covered landscape the sisters grew up in. Ichida has described these snowscapes as “visual metaphors for memory itself; mutable, obscured, yet softly glowing just below the surface.”
The exhibition features photopolymer photogravure and archival pigment prints. Ichida hand-printed every image using a 150-year-old etching process onto Japanese washi paper, layering in archival pigments as she goes. This painstaking, analogue approach underscores the series’ themes of memory and time, with the artist refusing to let a computer anywhere near the results.
Venue and Event Information
- Venue: The Photographers’ Gallery, Print Sales space
- Address: 16 to 18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW
- Dates: 3 July to 13 September 2026
- Entry: Entry is free; Prints start at £675 plus VAT
The Print Sales Gallery is a specialist space within The Photographers’ Gallery dedicated to discovering photographers and acquiring prints, offering an expert and welcoming environment for both first-time buyers and seasoned collectors. The gallery is located in Soho Photography Quarter, and entry to the exhibition is free.
Planning Your VisitEntry to Playing the Piano Upstairs in the Print Sales Gallery is free. A ticket to the Gallery’s main exhibitions is £12, or £9 concessions, with members free, and advance online booking at £10 or £7.50 concessions. One ticket covers every paid exhibition on the day of your visit.Opening hoursMonday to Wednesday, 10.30am to 6pmThursday and Friday, 10.30am to 8pm (free entry from 5pm on Fridays)Saturday, 10.30am to 6pmSunday and Bank Holidays, 11am to 6pmThe Photographers' Gallery
About the Artist
Sayuri Ichida (b. 1985, Japan) is a UK-based photographer who focuses on themes of self-identity, reflecting on her own memories and life experiences. Over the course of her career, Ichida has held solo exhibitions of her work in cities around the world, including London, Tokyo, Antwerp, Bologna and Nizhny Tagil. She was newly represented by the Print Sales Gallery for this exhibition, which marks her London debut in this space.
Collecting Information
Prints from Playing the Piano Upstairs are available to purchase, with prices starting at £675 plus VAT. Profits from sales go towards the gallery’s public programme, and buyers can pay in instalments through the Own Art scheme. The show runs alongside Japanese Women Photographers: From 1950s to Now, also at The Photographers’ Gallery until 27 September 2026. Right outside the gallery, in the Soho Photography Quarter, Ninagawa Mika: Captive Blooms is on show for free, day and night, until June 2027.
