Nicolò Pudel
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Film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
2026 · Japan · Naoshima

Japan, Naoshima

Naoshima was the first of three very different Japans on the same trip, before the pilgrimage paths of the Kumano Kodo and, finally, Tokyo. It is a strange and special place. Museums built into the hillsides, sculptures standing on beaches, Tadao Ando's concrete next to old fishing villages. I photographed it the way I photographed everything on that trip, just walking. The ferry in, the quiet corners between the galleries, the parts of the island that carry on as if the art were not there. The art is the reason you come. What stays with you is the place around it.

Japan, Naoshima, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
A large yellow polka-dotted pumpkin sculpture sits on a concrete pier extending into a calm turquoise sea with mountains visible across the water, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
A person sits alone on a bench facing a vast bay with distant mountains, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
A person stands alone on a sandy beach facing calm water with a forested headland visible in the distance, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
A man examines an open box of preserved food samples at a table indoors, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
Two women wearing patterned kimonos stand back-to-back against a plain background, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
A man stands inside a ferry looking out at a passing riverboat and forested riverbank through large windows, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel.
Japan, Naoshima — Kodak Tri-X 400
Japan, Naoshima, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
Japan, Naoshima, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
Japan, Naoshima, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
Japan, Naoshima, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel
A shuttered storefront with Japanese characters and "MIDSEVEN" signage on a weathered concrete building under clear sky, film photograph by Nicolò Pudel