Katja Stuke & Henguchi, Moon over Konohana, 2020

The moon has been a central theme of a series by Katja Stuke for several years now. Her series Moon over Konohana include several photographys of „fake“ moons, e.g. illuminated street signs in Osaka and Tokyo, company logos in Düsseldorf or lights at the airport in Paris. A central aspect of her work is the questioning of the supposed reality, presentability and irritation of the seen image, and thus also the possibilities of photography in general. Konohana is an interesting district in Osaka, characterized by old (partly empty) Japanese houses, various Shotengai in which still small retailers, kissaten, supermarkets, specialty stores or even a pachinko hall are located. Konohana is the center of Henguchi’s life, where Katja Stuke has lived during several residencies. Konohana feels partly almost village-like, at least in a small town, but is very centrally located on the JR-Loop Line and is known to tourists by Universal City.