SARAI MARI | SPEAK EASY

Sarai Mari
Born in Nara, Japan
Lives and Works in New York City

Sarai Mari studied photography at Santa Monica College in Los Angeles when she was a teenager. She began her career as a photojournalist in New York, then moved back to Japan and transitioned to fashion photography. After six years in Tokyo, she relocated to London where she became a well-established fashion photographer, shooting for numerous magazines such as Dazed & Confused and Harper’s Bazaar UK. In 2014, she moved back to New York where she has come to focus on portraiture.

Mari’s first book, Naked, is a monograph of female nudes published in 2011 and is the culmination of her work with the subjects of femininity and female sexuality. In 2017, Mari released her second book, Speak Easy, with Damiani Books. The work in this book is a photographic investigation of the gender roles men and women play within society. Mari’s third book, Delusion, was released by the Japanese publisher THOUSAND, Inc. in May 2019. With this book, Mari’s dream of working with the art director Fabien Baron came true. Delusion is focused on Mari’s own phobias and fantasies. In March of 2021, Mari released her fourth book, September. 2020 NYC, from the publisher Purezine.