In the summer of 2019, I decided to research into the living conditions of the poor in Hong Kong for my A-Levels personal project for art. I stumbled across a term called 'cage homes' which refers to people living in "bedspace apartments" due to the fact that housing is extremely expensive in the city. The fact that these 'cage homes' made me extremely upset as I grew up in Hong Kong as a child and noticed the big gap between rich and poor already but didn't see the severity of it.
This small project aims to raise awareness on the critical living conditions in my home place in hopes to get more conversations going.
The streets of Sham Shui Po, known as one of the poorer areas of Hong Kong, were crowded with people and buildings. Many of the buildings in this area were worn down, dark and old. Before interviewing the people who stayed in this "bedspace apartments", I took photographs of their surroundings to understand the chaotic and bustling streets of the city. Many of the overhead signs and front of restaurants still kept the traditional aesthetic of calligraphy but in many of the main streets of Hong Kong, these signs are long gone.
On this day, I visited two homes, in which the people who lived in the first home kindly asked me to not take pictures of them due to privacy reasons. Both families had moved from Mainland China to Hong Kong in the 1950's-1960's to find a better future but found themselves living in not so satisfactory conditions. Housing is extremely expensive in Hong Kong, contributing to issue of a big gap between rich and poor. Even a large house bought in the UK would be equivalent to a small flat just fit for two family members in Hong Kong.
The second family that I visited had a grandma and her grand-daughter living in the shared space. The little girl was 3 years old and her mother was at work earning money during the time the interview took place. When standing in the flat, my parents and I couldn't take more than 5 steps because that would be it. It was extremely difficult listening to their story because they seemed like such kind people that deserved so much better and that deserved much more help from the government due to their circumstances. It made me realise how privileged I am to be able to study abroad and to be able to live comfortably under a roof.
