Subdivided Flats

Shot by the professional Hong Kong-based photographer Benny Lam for a campaign by the SoCo between 2012 and 2015, Subdivided Flats series shed direct light on the housing problems in Hong Kong. Benny explains he "walked into almost 100 flats, climbed numerous stairs when taking pictures (...). Forty square feet can be the size of a toilet, a kitchen, or a balcony. It is just enough for three or four people to lie down, four or five swivel chairs, or 57 pieces of tiled A4-sized paper. But for some people, it is the size of the entire house that they call home."

These photographs were taken from a bird’s eye view and showed the tiny sub-divided space, which "compels you to do everything on or around the bed: sleeping, washing vegetables, having meals, writing letters, and watching TV," explained Benny. "For some people, it is also where the children do homework and play games. Living here is like being trapped in a cage. Dilemma is what it’s all about. If you need to catch your breath, stay in this trap and entertain yourself."

Benny graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Canada. He is a member of HKIPP and has been working with local and international brands and advertising agencies. Over the last decade Benny has been active in a range of creative media, and recently he has devoted himself to photography with a view to revealing the conditions of the underprivileged in Hong Kong. From affluence to poverty, from business to charity, he walks around the streets and alleys of dilapidated districts, using light and viewpoints intelligently to capture scenes that are rarely seen in the city to record the lives of the hidden communities. His series Subdivided Flats was shortlisted for the Prix Pictet Space (2017), the global award in photography and sustainability.



More information: www.studioinclineltd.com.hk