I’m interested in the iconography of the maneki neko. When I visited Japan they were everywhere, especially in large repetitive rows of different sizes, masses of them on display. It’s also widely adopted where I live in Hawaii, where Japanese traditions are more prolific in small towns. In Hawaii, there’s older, mismatched and nostalgic takes on the maneki neko. One can see a four foot tall gold maneki neko atop the soda machine at the mechanic’s shop or a wall of just 100s of mismatched vintage neko at the local restaurant.

I wanted to create a minimal but Hawaiian twist on the maneki neko iconography in my white on white maneki neko.