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Trapped—sub-divided units 07 侷住──潮流劏房 07
2012
Trapped—sub-divided units is a series of photographs by Benny Lam depicting the poor housing conditions of Hong Kong’s underprivileged residents. Undertaken in collaboration with the non-profit Society for Community Organization (SoCo), an advocacy group founded in 1972, the project focuses on subdivided flats partitioned illegally, ranging in size from fifteen to one hundred square feet and often without windows. Referred to as ‘cages’ or ‘coffins’, some units are too small to stand up, or fully lie down in. Occupants convert restrooms into kitchens and use their small rooms for every single activity: sleeping, eating, homework, and leisure. Lam’s images, shot from above, frame the subject’s confined, customised spaces and personal belongings.
Although Hong Kong is one of the world’s wealthiest cities, its housing is unaffordable to much of its population. As high rents outpace household incomes, hundreds of thousands of residents are forced to live in substandard accommodation. Hong Kong’s prosperity and extreme urban density are generally represented by its skyline and towers. Lam’s series captures intimate glimpses of domestic spaces and individual lives normally hidden from view.
Although Hong Kong is one of the world’s wealthiest cities, its housing is unaffordable to much of its population. As high rents outpace household incomes, hundreds of thousands of residents are forced to live in substandard accommodation. Hong Kong’s prosperity and extreme urban density are generally represented by its skyline and towers. Lam’s series captures intimate glimpses of domestic spaces and individual lives normally hidden from view.
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