Mari Katayama: 'Synthesis' [Exhibition & signing]

Join us to celebrate the new book Synthesis by the Japanese artist Mari Katayama, as well as the unveiling of a new photographic commission at the V&A South Kensington. 

Mari Katayama hand-sews intricate objects that often appear in her photographs. The new commission, tree of life, is a series of elaborate self-portraits in which Katayama positions her body with the largest of her ‘soft sculptures’ to date: a hand-stitched three-by-twenty-metre tube with multiple limbs. 

To the artist, the reflections that distort her figure represent a kind of transformation. Shapes emerge in a continuous flow, resembling maps, rivers, blood vessels, branches and tree roots, each element evoking the vitality of life. 

Free RSVP here.

Tuesday 18 November 
18:00-20:30

V&A South Kensington 
Cromwell Road
London, SW7 2RL
United Kingdom 

About Synthesis 

Created between 2019 and 2025 – a period marked by the birth of her daughter and a return to Gunma, the mountainous province where she grew up – Synthesis brings together nine photographic series, including the brand new tree of life, all produced in her home studio. This space becomes both a site of reflection and a stage for transformation.

In these intricately composed self-portraits, meticulously hand-sewn objects often appear changing their roles and shapes each time. The objects metaphorise the cycle of interconnected lives and the recurrence of the eras, while reflecting norms in society through artwork. ‘How do we perceive others, and how are we perceived by others?’ she asks. ‘What is “correct”? What is “natural” and “artificial”? Where does “I” end and “you” begin?’

Can't make the event? Purchase a copy of Synthesis here.