NEO MANEKINEKO -CRYPTO-

In 2021, amid the pandemic, when it was said to be difficult to "invite" people or money, Takahiro Koga presented {NEO MANEKINEKO}, an update of the beckoning cat. It carries a strong wish to reclaim people and money without succumbing to hardship. Then in 2022, he presented {NEO MANEKINEKO – CRYPTO–}, giving {NEO MANEKINEKO} a new concept.
Koga has long championed "ceramics for an age of gekokujō," making works for people who strive to rise, regardless of their origins.
So what is the greatest gekokujo (overthrow of the high by the low) of the 21st century? Perhaps it is the rise of blockchain and cryptocurrency — this hypothesis became the motivation behind this piece. Cryptocurrency was born from the concept of "creating currency free of government control", and as a result made many people, regardless of their background or education, into millionaires. In 2021, NFTs also exploded in popularity within the art world, making it arguably a defining keyword of our time.
The "maneki-neko" in this piece steps on the US dollar, a leading fiat currency, and wears bitcoin around its neck. Yet what it holds in its hand is a stablecoin — designed for price stability by pegging to fiat currency — hinting at a contradiction. {NEO MANEKINEKO – CRYPTO–} gives the "maneki-neko" a new concept, forcefully capturing one contemporary "form" that sharply reflects the current state surrounding cryptocurrency.