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Rachel Blundy

“The internet is full of cat pictures, but it is really the context of the shop where they live that I’m interested in,” says photographer Marcel Heijnen.
The feline-loving Dutchman, 51, is creating a storm online with his affectionate portraits of Hong Kong’s shop cats.
After moving back to the city in December last year following a 20-year hiatus, he began snapping pictures of moggies, and sometimes their owners, that caught his eye as he roamed around town.
His work soon attracted fans on Instagram, where he posts pictures under the handle @ChineseWhiskers.
How a performing cat from a Wan Chai pharmacy became a viral hit online – and her owners don’t even have a Facebook account 
Heijnen, who hails from The Hague but lives in Sai Ying Pun, said he was pleasantly surprised by the photo series’ success.
A new Bowen Road? Hong Kong cats and dogs die after suspected poisonings in Soho
He now hopes to publish a book, Hong Kong Shop Cats, this September, with a Hong Kong market cats book to follow by the beginning of next year. Both books will contain a haiku by Singaporean poet Ian Row, as well as an essay by Hong Kong-based British writer Catharine Nicol.
He will premiere some of his photographs during the Affordable Art Fair at the Blue Lotus Gallery in Chai Wan this weekend.
“I think [cats] are beautiful animals. They have a mind of their own – they have distinctly different characteristics and all have their own quirks,” he said.
“People say the same about dogs but I don’t think it’s true.
“Most [cats] are really friendly. They seem more independent and wise. I think they are quite compassionate creatures. Some people say they are quite aloof but I don’t find that.”
Heijnen, who has previously focused on creating textural cityscapes for his photo series, Residue, said some shop owners have told him they keep a cat to repel mice – and often their smell alone is enough to keep rodents at bay. 
He said his favourite cat he had photographed so far was Dau Ding (which translates as “Little Bean”) at a Chinese medicine shop near his home.
Hong Kong’s celebrity cat Brother Cream facing eviction over rent increase
“He was the very first one I spotted so I guess he kind of started the series,” he said.
“He sits on the shop counter with quiet authority; he’s got gravitas, like he owns the place. He’s unfazed by what’s going on around him. And his surrounding, the shop context, is great too – a colourful and visually rich backdrop with his owner looking a bit like Buddha.”
The photographer, who previously lived in Singapore, said he was always careful not to identify the specific location of the businesses he visits so they are not bombarded with visitors.
Two of Hong Kong’s most famous cats – Tsim Tung Brother Cream and Wan Chai Cat – who do not currently feature in his series, have become online sensations, with their own dedicated Facebook fan pages. 
“In my first week back in Hong Kong I just sort of stumbled across this project,” Heijnen said.
“Some of the photos are like Where’s Wally? images – you have to find the cat amid everything else.
“I see people walking past [these shops] and taking photos. I think it goes back to the Japanese idea of it being lucky to have a cat.”
Follow Heijnen on Instagram @ChineseWhiskers or visit www.marcelheijnen.com


Snap cat: Dutch photographer captures fabulous felines living in Hong Kong’s shops

Marcel Heijnen’s favourite cat, Dau Ding. Photo: Marcel Heijnen

Marcel Heijnen Hong Kong shop cats, market cats and alley cats.

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Marcel Heijnen is attracting hordes of fans online with his Instagram photo series Chinese Whiskers
