It was the first winter after we moved into our current home. Perhaps because it was so cold indoors, I saw our cats, who had not been particularly close or friendly and had basically lived independently, warming themselves in a corner of the room by clinging to each other like a yin-yang Taiji diagram. I thought I had to do something about it and searched the web for a cat bed, which for some reason I did not have, but I could not find one that looked good. After much research and consideration, I bought a round pillow and then went to a basket wholesaler in Asakusa to get a basket to cover it, and put them together in the living room as an instant cat bed.
For a while, the cats showed no interest in it at all, and it became a mere object of art. Toward the end of the winter, however, I began to see them curled up in bed, one by one. I had the ego of an owner who wanted to see them both in the bed at the same time, but as far as I could see, the bed was too small for two.
One would go in and stay for a few hours, leaving the other to sit on my lap or find some other less cold place. But when he couldn't take it anymore, he would approach the bed, poke the sleeping occupant, get him out, and win the place. Instead of sharing, it was like a night guard waking up his sleeping colleague to change shifts.
They would stay where they could feel cool during the summer months, and when it got cold, they would go back to bed. One day in the second winter after the bed was installed, I saw the usual changing of the guard. The one that had been sleeping stubbornly refused to get out. He was so stubborn that I thought the other one would give up, but to my surprise, he got into the bed by force. No, he didn't get in, more than half of his body was sticking out. I don't know if it was the first time or not, but in any case, I was excited as if my baby was standing up for the first time. Unexpectedly, neither of them seemed to be uncomfortable, and since then it has become their standard practice to sleep together, adjusting their positions in various ways.
Whenever I see both cats in bed, I bring the GR from the front door, where I keep it, and record it immediately. Their postures look the same, but they sleep in different positions each time. Sometimes one is on top of the other, and sometimes when I look away for a moment, the top and bottom are reversed. Sometimes I can't see the face of one of them, sometimes I think they are sleeping but they are looking at me. I have taken quite a few of them so far. I have no plans to do anything with them, but as long as they fit in this bed, I will keep taking them.
Kazuhei Kimura
Born in 1993 in Iwaki, Fukushima. Lives and works in Tokyo. While working in the fields of fashion, film and advertising, he continues to create works that move back and forth between his childhood experiences and his present life. Won the Judges Encouragement Prize (selected by Nozomi Himeno) at the 19th Photography 1_WALL and the Grand Prix at IMA next #6 ‘Black&White'. Major solo exhibitions include 'Ishi to momo (Counterpoint)' (Roll) in 2023 and 'Atarashii mado (The Other Side of the Window)' (Book and Sons) in 2020. Major photobooks include 'Sodemaku' and 'Todai' (both aptp) and 'Atarashii mado (The Other Side of the Window)' (Akaakasha).
Kazuhei Kimura (@kazuheikimura)
