Nohana Sayama

Nohana is a Japanese watercolour painter, graduating from the University of the Arts London with BA in Painting in July 2025.

Like human memory, spaces can 'forget.' After time away, they feel different, reflecting a world where individuals often feel insignificant. Nohana’s theme, titled 'vignette', embodies a longing for belonging and remembrance shaped by her experience of growing up in an expatriate family.

For Nohana, each place she lived became an antechamber filled with bittersweet memories. Her art serves as a record of her existence—snapshots of places she had to leave behind. She portrays companions as silent observers, inspired by Jizo and Dosojin statues that were traditionally created to protect travellers and their neighbours. Using Gansai watercolours connects her to her Japanese heritage while revealing her fluid, multicultural identity through its non-traditional application. The layers and dramatic lighting represent the fogginess of memory and emotional uncertainty.