This is the show you’ve always wanted to see: a collection of cat photos by Japanese photographers. At IBASHO, a gallery in Antwerp for Japanese art, more than eighty photographers sent works for The Neko Project, an open-call on the theme of cats. The response was so great, in fact, that it’s turned into a book, and two further exhibitions in France. The idea isn’t only whimsical—Japan has a long history with cats, and the upper classes in the country were living with domesticated felines 1,000 years ago. Shrines worship cats as gods, and they play a pivotal role in folklore and beliefs: the popular Japanese catfigurine maneki-neko (招き猫, “beckoning cat”) is believed to bring good blessings. And of course, let’s not forget the contemporary cat shero, Hello Kitty. This photo is one of two pictures by Masahisa Fukase included in the exhibition, of his beloved Sasuke.
