UPCOMING

“LO - Cupola #10”
© Nao Tsuda, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film

IACK is pleased to present “LO”, an exhibition by photographer Nao Tsuda.

Following “LO – Risograph” at POST in Tokyo in January this year, “LO – The Inverted Glass and the Cane” at VAGUE in Kobe, “LO” at Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film in April, and “LO – Risograph” at りーちあーと in Osaka in November, this exhibition presents around seven photographic works from the “LO” series.

Tsuda has been travelling to the Tibetan cultural sphere for around fifteen years. He has continued to walk through regions where, since ancient times, people have held gods, Buddhas and nature in awe, and where faith and tradition have been handed down by living close to a harsh natural environment.

This time, at the invitation of an acquaintance who is a cultural anthropologist, Tsuda headed for Mustang, a remote region of Nepal beneath the towering Himalayas. Lying deep in the Himalayas at altitudes of 2,500 to 4,000 metres, Mustang remained closed to the outside world until 1992, and entry for foreigners was restricted. The new series “LO”, photographed during a winter visit to the Mustang region, which can only be entered with a permit, will be shown for the first time in the Hokuriku region.

Tsuda says that one of the reasons he photographs landscapes is his unwavering belief that a world before language still exists there. What kind of landscapes appeared before the artist’s eyes as he travelled to that distant land with his film camera?

The landscape works in the “LO” series are framed in a distinctive semicircular shape. The artist explains that this shape began with the question “Does a landscape need four corners?” A certain feeling of buoyancy, which stayed with him in Nepal and even after his return to Japan, called to mind the view from the Cupola (a module on the International Space Station made up of six side windows and one overhead window), and so the semicircular landscapes were born.

The title “LO” carries two meanings. The first derives from “locian”, the Old English forerunner of the word “look”, reflecting the artist’s wish to make “seeing” and “turning one’s eyes towards something” the theme of the work. The second is taken from Lo Manthang (meaning “Kingdom of Lo”), the capital of the former Kingdom of Mustang, where the series was photographed.

After his return, the photobook “LO” was produced in two versions, a special edition and a regular edition, and published by NEUTRAL COLORS using risograph printing, in which the layers are built up by hand. In addition to the framed works, the new photobook “LO” will be available for purchase, so please do come and look through it in person.

Also on display will be “In Dhakmar”, a poster made in collaboration with PAPIER LABO. and issued as a numbered edition.

The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa is currently presenting “NEUTRAL COLORS NEW CIRCUIT” (until 18 April 2027). We warmly encourage you to visit both.

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LO
Nao Tsuda
Dates: 28 November 2026 – 11 January 2027
Open: Irregular days (please check the News section or our social media for the latest opening days)
Hours: Weekends and public holidays 11:00–14:00 / 15:00–18:00 | Weekdays 10:00–12:00 / 13:00–16:00
Venue: IACK (18-3 Takaoka-machi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa; at the end of the passageway beside Wineshop Brücke)
Free admission
Artist in attendance: 28 November (Sat) and 6 December (Sun)
In cooperation with: PAPIER LABO., Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film

[Talk Event]
Speakers: Nao Tsuda × Naonori Kato (Director, NEUTRAL COLORS)
Date: Sunday 6 December 2026, 14:00–15:30
Venue: IACK
Fee: ¥2,000 (payable at the venue on the day)
Booking: please apply via the booking form (bookings will close once capacity is reached)

“LO - Inverted Glass #3”
© Nao Tsuda, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery Photography / Film

[Photobook Information]
Design: Daisuke Kano
Editing: Naonori Kato
Languages: Japanese and English
Publisher: NEUTRAL COLORS
Year: 2025

• “LO” Special Edition
Specifications: 257 × 364 mm / softcover / 66 pages of photographs + 28-page separate text booklet / washi paper cover / four silkscreen prints on the inside of the cover
Price: ¥27,000 + tax
ISBN: 9784909932198
Second edition: 50 copies

• “LO” Regular Edition
Specifications: 257 × 364 mm / softcover / 66 pages of photographs + 28-page separate text booklet / housed in a slipcase
Price: ¥13,500 + tax
ISBN: 9784909932181
Second edition: 150 copies

“LO”, special edition, cover

“LO”, special edition

“LO”, regular edition

Nao Tsuda
Born in Kobe in 1976. A photographer who travels the world, continuing to translate through his viewfinder the relationship between people and nature that has endured since ancient times. In search of the world that the ancient strata of culture suggest to us, he turns his gaze towards invisible time. Since 2001, his practice has centred on numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad. More recently, he has also moved beyond the field of contemporary art into collaborations with other disciplines, magazine serialisations, lectures and special classes. Major exhibitions include “SMOKE LINE—Tracing the Windstreams” (Shiseido Gallery, 2008) and “Elnias Forest” (Mitsubishijisho ARTIUM, 2018). He will take part in “Time for Love and Prayers: Lithuanian Hand Crafts” at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum from 16 January to 28 March 2027.
tsudanao.com