'Small Business Edition' 2003-2005

The booming economy in China is creating opportunities for everybody. The traditional Confucian values still exist, although the modern standard for judging success is people’s financial ability, instead of moral, political or academic achievements. Everybody is trying to make money, in every imaginable way. You see them everywhere and they sell everything. 'Small Business Edition' is my visual record of this massive commercial wave and modern madness in China. Between 2003 and 2005, I wondered on the streets in Beijing, Guangxi, and Henan with my camera. I concentrated on people with their fragile businesses. Their were often very small---normally contained in a basket. I was amused by their hard-working spirits and optimism. But can they really make any money by doing such small, normally illegal businesses? Who are they trying to support? These are still my questions and worries.

Among the businesses I could see other interesting moments, such as the dog sitting behind the window, or the old man stretching his back in Jingshan Park. For me, these are part of the madness of modern China. Although I was certainly part of this, I tried to capture it and make sense of it.