SUMMARY
Artist Sayuri Ichida's exhibition "Playing the Piano Upstairs" showcases a series of photographs of her sister, created in the years following their mother's death. Ichida employs a laborious, 150-year-old photopolymer photogravure process, hand-printing each image onto washi paper with archival pigments. This deliberate choice of an antiquated technique stands in stark contrast to contemporary instant digital photography and AI-generated imagery. The artist's method, which involves exposing, etching, and inking plates by hand, imbues each print with unique variations, mirroring the mutable nature of memory.
TAKEAWAYS
Sayuri Ichida uses a 19th-century photopolymer photogravure process for her photography.
The technique involves hand-printing images onto Japanese washi paper, similar to etching.
This slow, deliberate method contrasts with modern instant digital and AI imaging.
Ichida's work explores themes of grief, sisterhood, and the nature of memory.