City of Ambition is a visit to one of the largest cities in the world, Chongqing. The city was granted municipal status in 1997, rather late. But the people of Chongqing are very eager to show the world and their sister cities in China who they are. With the booming economy this leads to an explosion in city development. What is taking place there resembles the ongoings in Manhattan in the twenties � when Manhattan was built. Stieglitz� quote �City of Ambition� describes the actual situation in Chongqing quite well.
I am mainly interested in the outskirts of Chongqing, where the city can�t be really seen but sensed, like a tiger moving through the jungle � invisible, yet there. Construction sites and places of change show metaphorical facets of the huge shift taking place in contemporary China. The landscape formed by the two huge rivers blending in the city will completely change when the water level reaches its maximum as part of the reservoir formed by the Three Gorges Dam. What dramatical effects this will have to the city of Chongqing can only be guessed today.
Ferit Kuyas (1955) was born in Istanbul, TR. He published his first book Industrial Interiors in the year 1998. Later Ferit?s travels brought him often back to China. As a result he published the book Shanghai (2000). His most recent project is the book City of Ambition with cityscapes from Chongqing, CN.
His work has been shown by galleries and museums in Europe, America and Asia and is represented in private and institutional collections. 1999 he received the Kodak Photobook-Award for Industrial Interiors and 2002 he was given the Hasselblad Masters award.
