One of the invisible victims of the global pandemic and physical distancing measures have been stray animals. When the streets of Tokyo emptied out in April as the city entered a state-of-emergency-induced lockdown, many strays were left to fend for themselves. Sadly, two kittens, Olive & Pepper, were abandoned on a roof in Tokyo. But the story has a happy ending.
Olive & Pepper were luckily adopted by Tokyo-based photographer Ben Beech (previously) and his wife. Speaking with S&T, Ben says, “being a photographer by trade, and having no work at all during this period I found myself photographing the kittens… a lot!”
The pair of kittens turned into a side-project for Ben, who began posting photos of the kittens on Instagram. The project strikes a special nerve for cat-lovers and Japan-lovers as the photos often combine elements of both. You can follow along with Olive & Pepper here, but don’t expect them to stay this small for long!
