House Full of Gold

It portraits the fortune tellers of Wong-Tai-Sin temple in Hong Kong. A unique place in the world with 160 fortune tellers in one place. One becomes a visitor of these shops and learn more about it. And about me, as I also had my face/hands read by them

This series portraits the fortune tellers of Wong-Tai-Sin temple in Hong Kong.  An unique place in the world where 160 fortune tellers are lined up in little offices in one place. Waiting for customers to come by.  With the series one becomes a visitor of these fortune shops and learn more about it.  And about me, as I also had my face/hands read by them.

I wanted to re-create these rows of fortune tellers and the bizarre atmosphere that is at the same time religious, superstitious, shopping mall, historic site,  all packed in one.  Allowing to observe the shops and its interior from the outside makes you a visitor that can choose his fortune teller.  The quotes give an idea what they do , what their background is,  how they got into business…

In a second series (‘Your Temper is Hot’) one goes inside the fortune teller’s shop;  all different in style and  materials. This is about me and my fortune.

The series presents the uniqueness of this old traditional business.  It depicts faith and superstition that still rule daily life in Asia in many ways. They help solve issues and disputes.  They hold the power to tell the future. People come here to find comfort and release from the need to make decisions. They create excuses for failure and give hope for success. Although it still plays an important role in Asian social and business culture, their own future is unclear as finding people to take over is difficult and there is the invasion of digital fortune telling apps.