© Yuichi Hibi, ca. 2000s, 猫 / Neco (Cat)

“I like dogs more than cats. I’ve always thought that dogs are smarter and sweeter than cats. However I’ve always taken many more pictures of cats than dogs. And I still don’t know why. It seems to me that cats never like to depend on anything. When they are tired, they sleep. When they want to eat, they cry. And when they want to have sex, they just do it…In Japan, we say, “Before cats die, they disappear from their owner.” Cats are very hidden, mysterious, and proud. I often feel they know how to make me take pictures of them, and they reveal what’s inside.” (Yuichi Hibi)

Spanning several years, the rich, grainy photographs of cats at rest, play, and on the hunt spill off the pages in this beautifully-produced artist’s book. Rather than simply documenting the activities of cats he has come across over the years, Hibi has managed to capture the very essence of being feline.

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