About Sonoko Obuchi

Between Japan and the UK

Between Motherhood and Art

Between Healing and Expression

Why I Create

I create to understand what it means to be human. My work is rooted in lived experience - motherhood, migration, identity, loss, and mental health.
Through moving image, installation, embroidery, and storytelling, I explore the invisible emotions that shape our lives: resilience, shame, tenderness, and transformation.

Art, for me, is a form of healing, a way to turn silence into language. I believe that vulnerability has power. When we dare to reveal what we often hide, we begin to connect, with ourselves and with others.

Each piece I create begins from a real moment - sometimes painful, sometimes full of hope, and evolves into something universal. My goal is not to beautify suffering, but to find meaning within it.

Artist Statement

I am a Japanese-born, UK-based multimedia artist whose practice bridges cultures and disciplines. My works often combine video, textile, and sound, inviting audiences into quiet, emotional spaces that question strength and softness, isolation and belonging.

Having lived in the UK for over twenty years, my perspective is shaped by the tension and beauty of in-between places geographically, culturally, and emotionally.
Motherhood, loss, and personal recovery have become recurring motifs, not as autobiographical confession, but as collective mirrors where others may find recognition and comfort.

At a Glance

Born in Fukuoka, Japan
Based in Derbyshire, United Kingdom
Education: BA (Hons) in Interior & Spatial Design, University of the Arts London (First)
Former Artist-in-Residence: Historic Royal Palaces (UK)
Teaching: PGCE-qualified Art Educator with experience across mainstream and special education
Solo Exhibitions: Held in London, across the UK, Japan, Ireland, and Bangkok
Selected Works: ARCHITECTURAL STORIES (2006), SPUTNIK SWEETHEART (2023), IN RED (2025)
Nominated for: Video design work on Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart (Offies 2024)
Design & Media: Creates character design and YouTube graphics for The Lion Family (1.3M subscribers)
Recognition: Met Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan, in acknowledgment of creative contributions in the UK