Peter Bialobrzeski

Peter Bialobrzeski (Germany, 1961) worked for many years as a press photographer, a career that began at a local newspaper in Wolfsburg. After studying political science and sociology and then taking a long trip through Asia, Bialobrzeski took courses in photography in London and Essen. He subsequently swapped his newspaper work for his own projects and has since published five books, the best known of which are perhaps Neon Tigers, Heimat and Paradise Now. He exhibits all over the world. In 2003 Bialobrzeski won the World Press Photo Award for his work about Asian megacities. In 2002 he was appointed Professor of Photography at the University of the Arts in Bremen.

Looking at the photos of Paradise Now, we are faced with a somewhat peculiar paradise. Bialobrzeski photographed the nature on the fringes of Asian metropolises. It contrasts sharply with the buildings in the background. Rapidly advancing urbanisation makes it seem almost like a rarity, oddly out of place. The constantly-burning sodium-vapour lamps of neighbouring building sites turn nature an unnatural green. But what are we really looking at here: a paradise being lost, or an artificial paradise under construction? There seems to be no unequivocal answer to this question – the photos are inherently ambiguous. How long can we go on wasting so much light and energy, the photographer asks. But his photos also show us the undeniable beauty decadence and folly can sometimes have.