Mario is a photographer, curator and educator of Japanese descent based in Manchester, UK. In his personal work, his interests lie in man’s often paradoxical relationship to the natural environment and how this finds expression in the post-industrial areas of Britain and abroad. His work has been exhibited and published in Britain and internationally, most recently with HOME MCR and Open Eye Gallery and he was recently awarded the GRAIN Portfolio prize at FORMAT Festival 2023. He is currently developing long-term projects in both the UK and Italy that explore place in the context of industrial legacy, nature and community and will embark on an artist’s residency in Wigan with Open Eye Gallery, in spring 2023. As freelance curator, Mario has lead and curated a number of contemporary photography exhibitions in the North, working alongside organisations such as Open Eye Gallery, Impressions Gallery, HOME Manchester and Castlefield Gallery.