in almost every picture 8-erik kessels

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in almost every picture.



January 4, 1999


June 13, 1999


June 13, 1999


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October 24, 1999


October 24, 1999


November 1, 1999


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November 15, 1999


November 15, 1999


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December 11, 1999


January 1, 2000


January 9, 2000


January 9, 2000


January 9, 2000


January 25, 2000


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September 13, 2000


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October 2, 2000


October 11, 2000


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October 27, 2000


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December 14, 2000


January 2, 2001


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February 23, 2001


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March 31, 2001


April 27, 2001


April 27, 2001


May 9, 2001


May 22, 2001


June 7, 2001


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July 21, 2001


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August 8, 2001


August 18, 2001


September 2, 2001


September 7, 2001


September 23, 2001


October 10, 2001


October 24, 2001


November 1, 2001


November 1, 2001


November 1, 2001


November 1, 2001


November 1, 2001


November 17, 2001


December 1, 2001


December 13, 2001


December 23, 2001


January 1, 2002


January 1, 2002


January 12, 2002


January 16, 2002


February 19, 2002


March 29, 2002


April 19, 2002


May 26, 2002


July 15, 2002


July 15, 2002


July 28, 2002


August 20, 2002


September 28, 2002


September 28, 2002


November 4, 2002


November 4, 2002


November 13, 2002


December 16, 2002


January 1, 2003


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September 23, 2003



This is a tribute to a Japanese rabbit named after a Chinese tea. It’s also the story of high-technology,

true love, and an unusually flat head.

The images you’ve seen date from the first wave of photoblogging. At the turn of the century, digital

technology had advanced to the point where users could easily bring their images to public view. One of the more popular photoblogging pioneers was a professional photographer by the name of Hironori Akutagawa. Hironori’s most frequent subject was Oolong, his pet rabbit, who he showed in image bank style beauty shots. This was centrefold photography with a real bunny (as opposed to the bottle blonde Valley Girl variety): Oolong reclining in a meadow at sunset, Oolong with a flower in his hair gazing wide-eyed into the camera, and so on.

But amongst the softcore bunny-loving, a fascinating trend was emerging. Hironori noticed that

Oolong’s head formed a miniature plateau, a tiny mantelpiece on which all kinds of objects could be displayed. In a counterpoint to his regular pieces, the photographer began experimenting with snap-shot portraits of his favourite rabbit, each showing the subject with a different commonplace item balanced on his pate.

The very first of Oolong’s acrobatic tricks depicted our rabbit with another rabbit’s skull on top of his

own. From this early comment on mortality, Oolong proceeded to lighter subjects. He had a particular fondness for food and major world events. Yoghurt, fruit and various kinds of sweets all featured, with cookies and cakes recurring most frequently. References to the 2000 Olympic games, the Millennium and even the Twin Towers also weighed on Oolong’s mind. Shortly after 911 the rabbit appeared with a tiny homemade Stars and Stripes.

When he wasn’t marking major historical moments, Oolong was busy balancing other rabbits. Toy

bunnies perched atop our hero’s noggin, sometimes two or three at a time, forming a kind of rabbit display team. These games had the effect of humanizing Oolong, giving the impression that he cared, that he had a sense of humour.

The series lasted from 1999 until 2003, when fate intervened and ended Oolong’s antics… by ending

Oolong himself. Terminally ill, fading fast, his final moments were recorded on camera, our star now sprawled on his deathbed or propped up with a sick bucket. Soon, the toy rabbits he performed with came to pay their final respects. With that, the tale came full circle: the plucky young creature who once balanced a fellow rabbit’s skull on his head had himself become a victim.

The last photograph we have shows Oolong’s grave. Here, what appear to be his ears (but are actually

carrots) mark his resting place in Hokkaido’s frozen winter soil. It was the end to a peculiar love affair, played out between a man, his rabbit, dozens of everyday items, and more than a million internet users across the planet.

A KesselsKramer book. December 2009. Collected and edited by Erik Kessels. Photographs by Hironori Akutagawa. www.fsinet.or.jp/~sokaisha/rabbit/rabbit Words by Christian Bunyan. Published by KesselsKramer Publishing, Lauriergracht 39, 1016 RG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Publisher contact: Kyra Müller, kyra@kesselskramer.nl Distributed by Idea Books, idea@ideabooks.nl Pre-press and printing by Aeroprint. ISBN 978-90-70478-28-5 www.kesselskramerpublishing.com




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