Impossible is Nothing

By Priscilla Briggs Daylight Books, £35.05, 116 pages, hardback, ISBN 978-1-94208-433-4

AS CHINA’S influence in the world expands, so must the make-up of its cultural and physical landscape. Over a period of six years, US-based photographer Priscilla Briggs journeyed along the eastern seaboard of China in an attempt to document the burgeoning intersection between Chinese society and Western values. This has largely resulted in a generation of Chinese people rejecting the ideology of the Chinese Communist society and instead establishing themselves as a consumer class. With such a transformation on the cards, Chinese society is being reformed as something distinct from its preceding years. Briggs’ images work especially well at capturing what this society in flux really looks like. We see the birth of a new middle class, one that looks to mimic the West, even if it means going so far as recreating notable Western landmarks. Ultimately, Briggs’ book shows capitalism’s force as it penetrates new territories. More than that, it shows the birth of a new era for China, and as such is a fairly vital document. ★★★★★