The Eurasian Face

HK$198.00

  • USD: US$25.32
  • CNY: CN¥182.04
  • GBP: £19.86
  • EUR: €23.24
  • AUD: AU$38.57

Out of stock

By Kirsteen Zimmern

 

No one represents diversity better than Eurasians – those individuals with a mix of Caucasian and Asian heritage. Once a source of shame, the Eurasian face has become the face that sells. It is the face with which everyone can identify. In an ever-shrinking world, the search is on for a one-size-fits-all global image. Eurasians have become the world’s poster boys and girls, much sought after as actors and models.

Taking advantage of increasingly tolerant times and the growing commercial and cultural exchanges between East and West, Eurasians have gained prominence as entrepreneurs, professionals and athletes. This book of interviews and black-and-white portraits reveals how seventy Eurasians of diverse backgrounds see their place in the world today.

Kirsteen Zimmern is a photographer of Chinese and Scottish ancestry. She has always been fascinated by the tell-tale signs of East and West in the faces of fellow Eurasians, and has found this fascination to be widespread: few days go by without strangers examining her appearance to discern her ethnicity. She lives in Hong Kong.

Look inside this book
Click on the below link to view sample pages from The Eurasian Face. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Pages 48-59

Out of stock

SKU: 9789889979997 Categories: , , Tags: ,

Description

No one represents diversity better than Eurasians – those individuals with a mix of Caucasian and Asian heritage. Once a source of shame, the Eurasian face has become the face that sells. It is the face with which everyone can identify. In an ever-shrinking world, the search is on for a one-size-fits-all global image. Eurasians have become the world’s poster boys and girls, much sought after as actors and models. Taking advantage of increasingly tolerant times and the growing commercial and cultural exchanges between East and West, Eurasians have gained prominence as entrepreneurs, professionals and athletes. This book of interviews and black-and-white portraits reveals how seventy Eurasians of diverse backgrounds see their place in the world today.

MEDIA ATTENTION

Four-star review: “A new book cuts to the heart of being Eurasian” South China Morning Post

“Zimmern … has taken what she called ‘a fleeting glimpse into the lives and faces of a number of Eurasians,’ and ended up fascinated by what she discovered. She has produced a lovely and evocative book to tell their stories.” Asia Sentinel

“Half Chinese and half Scottish, Kirsteen Zimmern is Eurasian, although you wouldn’t think it to look at her. She gets this reaction all the time, shock and awe from both East and West as she reveals her ‘other side’ by speaking fluent Cantonese. This was among many reasons why, despite being a mother to four and a working barrister, she began assembling The Eurasian Face – a handsome new hardbound book published by Blacksmith.” Time Out Hong Kong

The Eurasian Face received a full-page review in Ming Pao Weekly (in Chinese)

“Book reveals life in Hong Kong from a Eurasian perspective” South China Morning Post

“In a city like Hong Kong, which is made up almost entirely of immigrants, ask the question, “Where are you from?” and you’re unlikely to receive a straightforward answer. But that’s precisely what Kirsteen Zimmern asks in her first book, The Eurasian Face, a collection of thoughts and photographs from people of combined Asian and Western ancestry. Shot mostly in her native Hong Kong and featuring people from New Zealand, France, the Philippines and Thailand (to name just a few), Zimmern spent three years shooting photographs and compiling interviews of Eurasians of all ages and backgrounds. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is that it offers not only an insight into people’s self-perceptions but also a glimpse into history, in particular how attitudes towards interracial unions were perceived in the not-too-distant past.” HK Magazine

Kirsteen Zimmern spoke to Sarah Passmore on RTHK Radio 3

Additional information

Weight 900 g
Dimensions 205 × 310 mm
Pages

140

Binding

Hardcover

Illustrations

70 black-and-white photographs

About the author

Kirsteen Zimmern was born in Hong Kong in 1979 to a Scottish mother and a Chinese father. She spent the early years of her life in a Chinese village in the New Territories with her parents and extended Chinese family.

She completed her primary and secondary education in Hong Kong before leaving to read law in the United Kingdom. After attaining her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, she joined the Inner Temple and was subsequently called to the Bar of England and Wales. Unable to cope any longer with the English weather, she returned home to commence her practice as a barrister.

Kirsteen has always enjoyed amateur photography and is particularly interested in black and white portraiture. She continues to live in Hong Kong and is married with two step-daughters and a son.