A new photography exhibition at London's Photographers' Gallery, Playing the Piano Upstairs, explores photographer Sayuri Ichida's evolving relationship with her sister, set against the snowy landscapes of their hometown in Niigata, Japan. Ichida, who is based in Margate, uses the series to trace how the sisters' once-distant bond grew stronger and more fragile after the death of their mother during their late teens, weaving personal memory and grief into atmospheric, handcrafted images.

The photographs feature the sisters' childhood coastal town, which they moved to when Ichida was seven and her sister was four, following their father's job at a local nuclear power station; Ichida recalls once admiring the plant's glow before her feelings shifted after the Fukushima disaster. Other images capture the family's home beach, a reservoir pond near their house during a striking pink sunrise, and a snowbound tunnel found by chance during a severe blizzard, all reflecting Niigata's shift from cool summers to record heat and heavy snowfall. The exhibition runs at the Photographers' Gallery in London until 13 September, with prints available to purchase.