Exhi bition of Photographs by Takao Inoue

Curator's Note 

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Ladakh opened to foreigners in 1974. Takao Inoue was one of the early foreign photographers who documented Ladakh extensively. He visited Ladakh in 1975 and photographed Buddhist murals in the temples along with people, material cultures and landscapes. During the same period, he also photographed Buddhist murals at the Bagan (Pagan) ruins in Burma (now Myanmar). In 1978, he published Buddhist Wall-Painting in Ladakh and PAGAN: Mural Painting of the Buddhist Temples in Burma, which became highly popular, introducing Buddhist art from both Ladakh and Myanmar to Japan and inspiring a variety of people including researchers and artists. The photographic collection left by Takao Inoue are valuable records of Ladakh and Burma from half a century ago.

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In 2017, Kyoto City University of Arts, his alma mater, began archiving the films with the support of the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan through two projects - DiPLAS and X-DiPLAS. We digitised 1,533 films from Ladakh and 4,679 films from Burma under these projects. The digital library consisting of 2,060 photographs of Inoue was launched in March 2024, making these invaluable photographs accessible to the general public. These photographs, taken 50 years ago, have never been exhibited in India before and will surely raise the curiosity of the viewer, as they show a Ladakh that has changed significantly since. This selection is a tribute to the legacy of Takao Inoue’s wonderful work and unique perspective.