Mari Katayama (b.1987, Saitama) conceives of her own body as a living sculpture, producing an eclectic oeuvre that encompasses self-portraits and other photographic works, intricately crafted handsewn objects, and video installations. While bearing autobiographical elements that reflect the artist herself at various moments in her life, her works are also deeply imbued with a strong volition towards a universality that is grounded in the artist’s own experiences and thought processes, and have garnered empathy across various different fields, transcending the boundaries of art. Through the “High Heel Project,” a long-term artistic and activist initiative launched in 2011 advocating the “freedom of choice for all,” she has continued to actively update society’s existing frameworks, making it stand as a valuable example demonstrating, in a highly concrete manner, the potential for artistic practice through works to connect with society.
Her major solo exhibitions include, “Mari Katayama -Display at Tate Modern, Performer and Participant” (Tate Modern, London, 2023), “Mine and Yours” (Foto Arsenal Wien, 2023), and “home again” (Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, 2021), with selected group exhibitions such as “Women in Photography” (Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2025), “QUELLE JOIE DE VOUS VOIR” (Les Rencontres d’Arles, 2024), “Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest” (South London Gallery, 2025), “LOVE: Still Not the Lesser” (Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, 2023), “58th Venice Biennale: May You Live in Interesting Times” (Arsenale, Giardini, Venice, 2019), “Contemporary Japanese Photography vol. 14: Photographs of Innocence and of Experience” (Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, 2017), “Roppongi Crossing 2016: My Body, Your Voice: (Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, 2016). Her works are included in the collections of Tate Modern (London), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Fondation Antoine de Galbert (Paris), National Museum of Art, Osaka, Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, and Mori Art Museum. In 2015, six works from her tree of life series, commissioned by the Victoria and Albert Museum, was newly acquired and added to the museum’s collection.