Bahar Noorizadeh is an artist, theorist, writer and filmmaker based in London. Her work explores the histories of neoliberalism, speculation, finance, fiction, credit, value, the weird and the unknown. In Free to Choose, she explores the credit banking system as a time-travelling machine through a story set in Hong Kong that spans decades. Free to Choose is created in collaboration with animator Rudá Babau and the experimental opera group Waste Paper Opera.

Free to Choose begins with an opening monologue from economist Milton Friedman, taken from his 1980 US Public Broadcasting Service television series. Friedman believed neoliberal systems were the surest route to a prosperous and free society. Following its release from the UK’s governance, Hong Kong retained control of its economic system despite being handed over to the Chinese government. Friedman hailed Hong Kong as a “free market utopia” that would “set an example for the rest of the world”. Much like the economic worlds built within the metaverse and gaming platforms of today, Hong Kong was a testing ground for neoliberalism, spearheaded by its Western colonisers. The results shaped the economic policies of Western powers in the decades to come. In 2023, despite once claiming the highest rate of public housing in the world, Hong Kong now holds one of the widest wealth gaps and most lucrative real estate markets on the planet.