Koji Onaka has a long history of wandering in the streets of Japan and abroad in a search of the spontaneous and the unexpected. In the 80’s he became a member of CAMP, a street photographer independent gallery created by Daido Moriyama with Keizo Kitajima, Seiji Kurata among others.
His photographic work is built around a mixture of delicacy and nostalgia; the images seem to have been created by a peaceful mind. In his photographs, Koji Onaka uses evocation and free association.
– What represents cats for you ? what is your relation with cats ?
I have a very cute cat who is my family.
They are friends for a few seconds when I meet them on a trip.I say hi to them.
– In your selection some photos are with cats and some are not. ..
I feel a sign of cats here and there even if there are no cats in the photograph. I guess every cat fan feels the same about it.
– Are you a ‘cat photographer’ or it’s because cats are parts of the world that they are also in your photos?
I’m not cat photographer but I’m always looking for cats on my trip.
– In your photos cats are not ‘ kawaii’. What do you think about this kawaii-cat fashion?
Really? I think that all cats are kawaii! I don’t like scary cat photos for an easy expression.
By the way, kawaii cat photo is easy and does not interest me.
– Do you have something else to say about your photo or the Neko-project ?
I believe that all Neko fans are good people and I hope to have a wonderful communication with a lot of people in the world through this project.
© Koji Onaka
