In January 2016 Hong Kong was selected for the sixth time in a row as the world’s “freest economy” by America’s Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal. The photo book Hong Kong’s Bet on Greed describes this neo-liberal “field trial” as a proxy for the PRC’s future interests in Asia. In six densely composed sections of images – from Heart of Gold to Dystopian Confusion – Volker Heinze recounts “the Chinese gamble on greed”, which features rapid growth and highlights the gap separating rich and poor: between towering skyscrapers and the golden clasp of a woman’s handbag lies a world that, far from being driven by megalomania, seems instead to be just and equitable. Heinze shows all these contrasts in his images.
256 pages, 21.5 x 30.3 cm, softcover, Spector Books (Leipzig).
256 pages, 21.5 x 30.3 cm, softcover, Spector Books (Leipzig).