“System Nejineji Machine: Control Center”

Friday, April 10 — Saturday, May 2

“System Nejineji Machine: Control Center”
Artist: System of Culture, Shota Tsukiyama, Natsumi Saito
Friday, April 10 — Saturday, May 2 2026 13:00–19:00

Closed on Sundays, Mondays and Holidays
Venue: LAG (LIVE ART GALLERY)
Daiwa Jingumae Bldg. 1F, 2-4-11 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
Opening reception: Friday, April 10, 18:00–20:00

LAG is pleased to present System Nejineji Machine: Control Center, a group exhibition by System of Culture, Shota Tsukiyama, and Natsumi Saito, on view from April 10 to May 2, 2026.

The title is derived from the hub space “Time Nejineji Machine Control Room” appearing in the game Crash Bandicoot 3, which the three artists played in the past. In the game, this space functions as a base from which players access multiple stages, selecting and proceeding into different areas.

In this exhibition, the structure of that space is referenced while the word “Time” is replaced with “System.” Here, “Nejineji” refers to an operation that acts upon existing relations and structures, producing subtle shifts in how things appear. Rather than moving through time, the exhibition centers on intervening in the very systems that constitute perception and cognition.

System of Culture constructs scenes by cross-referencing existing images, reorganizing visual relationships. Shota Tsukiyama engages elements such as observation, devices, and the body to shift the position of the viewpoint, presenting how vision is acquired. Natsumi Saito, through processes of transformation and reconstruction of images, visualizes the structures by which vision is constituted.

All three practices can be understood as processes that transform how the world appears through specific tools and procedures. As the exhibition space emerges as a site that connects different visual systems and enables movement between them, individual works are not presented as fixed entities; rather, their positions remain open to change through shifting perspectives and relationships.

This exhibition offers an opportunity to reconsider the systems through which we experience vision. We warmly invite you to visit.

PROFILE

System of Culture

Formed in 2017, System of Culture creates works that examine the structure and texture of what we see, as well as the relationships between things, drawing on the images and theories that have accumulated and continued to circulate up to the present day. Through this practice, the collective invites a shift in perspective toward the world around us.

In 2021, they received the Patricia Karallis Award at the JAPAN PHOTO AWARD 2021, and in 2022 were selected for VOCA 2022: Visions of Contemporary Art — New Generation of Two-Dimensional Artists. Major solo exhibitions include Exhibit 4 at CALM & PUNK GALLERY (2022), Exhibit 6 at parcel (2024), and Exhibit 8: Pieces of Narratives at MAHO KUBOTA GALLERY (2025). Their publications — Book 1, Book 2, and Book 3: Pieces of Narratives — are available through United Vagabonds.

Instagram：@systemofculture

Shota Tsukiyama

Artist /Photographer,

b.1997 in Tokyo, Japan. Lives and work in Japan.graduated from Nippon Photography Institute in 2019.

His interest in seeing has led him to develop photographic works, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional, that deal with the vision newly acquired through tools (cameras) and through the roles, knowledge, and physicality of his own position in the world.

In recent years, based on the affinity between sniping and photography, he has been creating works that attempt to acquire new visual images by incorporating the actions of snipers and observers toward their targets, such as observation, reconnaissance, research, tactics, disguise, and camouflage, in the process before and after shooting.

Notable exhibitions include “ENCOUNTERS” (ANB TOKYO, Tokyo, 2020), “constellation #02” (rin art association, Takasaki, 2021), “P.O.N.D” (PARCO MUSEUM TOKYO, Tokyo, 2021), “EENT” (POST-FAKE projects, Tokyo, 2023), “NEW ANXIETIES” (N/A & FF Seoul, Seoul, 2025), “S.L.L.S.” (COPYCENTER GALLERY, Tokyo, 2026).

Instagram：@shotatsukiyama

Natsumi Saito

Artist, born in 1999 in Aomori, Japan. Based in Hiroshima, Japan. Graduated from the Graduate School of Arts, Hiroshima City University in 2026.

hers works explore how images are received in today’s information society. Focusin on the structure of information and imagery circulating on the internet, as well as invisible forms of influence, she primarily creates two-dimensional and video works using digital media.

Major exhibitions include the solo exhibition “MAP” Iti SETOUCHI, Hiroshima, Japan (2026), “Tale,on_the_Table.” Hiroshima Drawing Lab, Hiroshima, Japan (2025), “Idemitsu Art Award Exhibition 2024” The National Art Center, Tokyo, Japan (2024), and the solo exhibition “Lento: Small Journey” Gallery G, Hiroshima, Japan (2023).

Instagram：@saito_nas