Photographer Matthias Forster is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this photo essay. From the ‘METROPOLIS SUNDAY HONGKONG SERIES’. To see Matthias’ body of work, click on any photograph.

Metropolis Sunday takes the viewer on a journey behind the gleaming skyscraper backdrop to discover the light in the dark, the beautiful in the ugly and the virtuoso in the banal. Metropolis, the mother city, is the epitome of the cosmopolitan city. Sunday is the day of rest. Metropolis Sunday is an alternative concept to the hectic, stimulus-flooded society. Away from the noisy, busy streets, the city is supplied with energy, food and people. Contrary to the cliché of the noisy and overcrowded metropolis, the reverse side reveals almost deserted and quiet places. This is where the city catches its breath and comes to rest, where space and time recede into the background. The rear of the skyscraper formation can be seen as a reflection of society; on the prestigious front, many things are presented beautifully and neatly. Away from the usual ideal of beauty, the informal and improvised reveals itself as an atmospheric backdrop in its own right.

Matthias Forster is an adventurous and curious person. He is driven by an inner thirst for life, authenticity and experience. The clarity, originality and playfulness with which he uses light, form and color characterize his visual language. Rather than following a clear concept, he relies on his intuition. Consequently, he finds concepts, fashion trends, analyses and explanations boring. He prefers to go with the flow, discovering who he is, what he has done, where he wants to go and what that means for the bigger picture as he goes along. In his work, he explores the traces and legacies of humanity, as well as the tension between chaos and order. Through his perceptive observations, he sheds light on everyday things that are often overlooked. 

After studying architecture in Basel and Berlin, gaining experience at various well-established architectural firms and travelling extensively, he completed his photography studies at MAZ. Institut für Journalismus und Kommunikation in Lucerne in 2018. Since then, he has worked as a freelance artist, focusing on independent photographic projects.

All images and text © Matthias Forster