Artist’s Statement:
The interest in keeping goldfish dates back to ancient Chinese traditions. In 1162 the empress of the Song Dynasty gave order to build a pond to household the finest goldfish they could find. Those not of royal blood were forbidden to keep these yellow goldfish for there it was the color of the imperial family. In the Chinese culture the goldfish often symbolized surplus, luck and wealth and keeping goldfish is said to bring good fortune.
Because of the lack of space in most of the houses in Hong Kong the goldfish is for most people the perfect pet. The Hong Kong Goldfish Market is located in Mongkok in the North of Hong Kong. It exists of a large number of pet shops selling aquarium fish many of them hanging on a fence in small plastic little bags, waiting to be sold. The bags are filled with pure oxygen so the fish could stay alive for more then 3 days. The shops open early in the morning and close late at night, on a good day they sell 100 to 500 fish.
Artist’s Bio:
Janus van den Eijnden ( Amsterdam , 1983 ) graduated in 2008 at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague Since then he has been a freelance documentary photographer . He works for a large variety of clients and makes his own documentary series which exhibits. His documentary series have in the past been awarded with prizes and where shown at international photo-festivals.