"... these large-scale, 'shimmering' photographs present the dynamic aspects of today's East. Romantic like Blade Runner but not dark, the images in this book ... will remind you of the dialectic between the old and the new that is the constant changing force in all modern cities." kultureflash

German photographer Peter Bialobrzeski was awarded first prize in the "Art" category at the prestigious World Press Photo Awards in 2003 as well as the Best-Designed German Books Prize in 2004.

In Neon Tigers, he merges the seven Asian cities of Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jakarta, Singapore, and Shenzhen into a virtual megatropolis. His photos present an image of a world that no longer seems real but appears instead as a series of dream-images of an eccentric film architect or computer-game producer. Their references to reality evoke a sense of conflict in the viewer, as appreciation for the beauty of the absurd competes with recognition of an irreversible process of change in urban living space. They expose two different growth models: unscrupulous, uncontrolled expansion, as in Bangkok, and totally controlled, yet equally unscrupulous growth in a city like Shanghai.
Bialobrzeski's photographs are full of conflicting signs and symbols that are often indecipherable for Westerners-a kind of semiotic overkill that is held in check only by the picture frame.

The photographer:

Peter Bialobrzeski, born in 1961 in Wolfsburg. 1988-1993 studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen; 1991/92 further studies at the London College of Printing; 1997 membership of the DFA (Deutsche Fotografische Akademie - German Academy of Photography). He has been a professor of Photography at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen since 2002. In addition to his activities as an independent art photographer, he also works on assignment for national and international periodicals, agencies and businesses.

Exhibition schedule: Museum der Arbeit, Hamburg, September 17 - November 28, 2004

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