Booker•Lowe Gallery - Contemporary aboriginal fine art of Australia

Songs of Lao:
An Exhibition of Photographs by Kenro Izu and Yumiko Izu to Benefit the Lao Friends Hospital for Children

Songs of Lao is a haunting series of black-and-white photographs of ancient monuments of Laos, and color prints that capture iconic figures, flowers, and fragments of ruins. Award-winning photographers Kenro Izu and his wife, Yumiko, created Songs of Lao to support Friends Without A Border, the charity he founded in 1996 to build a children’s hospital in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Since 1999, the Angkor Hospital for Children has served more than 1.3 million patients. In 2015, FWAB opened Lao Friends Hospital for Children in Luang Prabang, Laos, another poor country were indigent children have had virtually no access to healthcare. The Lao Friends Hospital is yet another example of FWAB furthering its mission of “healing children, healing Asia.”

But why is an Australian Aboriginal art gallery displaying fine art photographs of Laos?

Gallery owners Nana Booker and David Lowe had the privilege of visiting Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2003, and meeting Kenro Izu at the children’s hospital. Deeply moved by the plight of these children and their families, the dedication of the (then mostly volunteer) medical staff, and the commitment of Kenro Izu to devote his amazing photographic talent to support the project, they offered to host a benefit at the gallery. In 2004, Booker-Lowe presented Passage to Angkor: Platinum/Palladium Prints by Kenro Izu, and Houstonians opened their hearts (and wallets) to acquire extraordinary photographs and help Friends Without A Border expand the hospital, which now includes medical, nursing, and dental schools, as well as outreach programs. The gallery has quietly supported FWAB ever since, and immediately said “yes!” when Kenro Izu suggested showing his and Yumiko’s beautiful photographs to benefit the Lao Friends Hospital.

Please join Booker-Lowe in experiencing these stunning photographs of this often forgotten land, and in making a difference in the lives of thousands of its children.

Booker-Lowe is the leading American gallery for contemporary Aboriginal fine art from Australia. We're open Wednesday-Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm, and by appointment at your convenience. We stock hundreds of paintings and original prints from under $300 to $35,000, and can source Aboriginal artworks for those with special requirements.