£25.00 hardback
300mm x 230mm
160 pages
80 duotone photographs
ISBN: 1-899235-14-0
Available USA $40.00
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Shanghai Odyssey
photographs by Homer Sykes
As Shanghai enters the twenty-first century, this most dynamic of Chinese cities looks back over a decade of phenomenal growth. A whole new city has sprung up across the Huangpu river in Pudong, a focus for foreign investment and futuristic architecture. Yet on the Bund the city’s international past is still very much in evidence, while in the crowded streets and shopping malls behind there is an unabashed enthusiasm for consumerism and a great capacity to enjoy whatever life has to offer. In Shanghai, everyone dreams of making a fortune, or at least a better life.
The celebrated photographer, Homer Sykes, visits Shanghai for the first time, but it is a city with which he has a very personal link. He too is a product of this city of dreams, and he goes in search of traces of his parents’ brief sojourn in the city, cut short by tragedy half a century ago Moving images capture these echoes of the past. Sykes connects with the people of Shanghai, young and old, those optimistically facing a future full of possibilities, and those who have experienced more in one lifetime than seems humanly possible. His pictures range from moments of personal intimacy to industrial projects, and his work achieves a subtle chemistry between photojournalism and fine art photography. The photographs are accompanied by perceptive captions and a lively chronology of historical events.
Homer Sykes is a member of the internationally renowned Network Photographers and has travelled widely on assignment throughout the world. His books include Once a Year: Some Traditional British Customs, Mysterious Britain, and Celtic Britain. He is also co-author with Roger Protz of The Village Pub, with Godfrey Smith of The English Season, and with Roy Kerridge of The Storm is Passing Over.
The book is sponsored by The Grimstone Foundation, a family-based, UK charity. Its objectives include providing educational support to young people in China and elsewhere.
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