WASTE

Finalist

Abby Au - Your Trash. My Treasure.

Abby Au A 1982 Hang Seng Bank, Hong Kong Dollar Saving Account Pass-book, in which Mr. Lam recorded his first pot of gold.
Abby Au Ms. Ping’s collections, packed in Hong Kong’s iconic Red White Blue bags, so she doesn’t feel so alone - an adult version of the security blanket that babies turn to.
Abby Au Dolls, Ting Ting and Yan Yan, have been great listeners for Wing Tung since she was a one year old.
Abby Au TVs from a different era remind Daniel of his days as a child. With no TVs of their own, he and his friends would peep under the neighbour’s gate so they could watch their favourite TV show.
Abby Au Old habits die hard, Mr. Lee ran an umbrella-making and repair shop. Now retired, he still rescues broken umbrellas and brings them home.

Biography

Au Fung Man Abby is a graphic designer who loves traveling, freedom and definitely photography. Abby finds photography fascinating, her works capture the nature of beauty and people. In 2011, she spent a year in Australia to search for, and find, incredible secret places. She used her camera to capture every moment, which stimulated her senses and nourished her growing passion for photography. The photos Abby made were used in campaigns to promote Australian tourism. In 2014, Abby joined IDEA Project, a non-profit organisation committed to designing and building schools for Cambodian children. During her time there, she used her camera to record the lives and faces of local Cambodians.

Project Statement

Hong Kong

Total area: 1,104.43 square kilometres

Population: 7,234,800

With a huge population on a very scarce land mass, Hong Kong’s per capita living space is only about 15 square metres, far below that of Singapore at 30 square metres and the United Kingdom at 97.9 square metres. While people around the world may wonder how to gain more living space by trashing their old stuff, some people in Hong Kong struggle to make the best use of their 15 square metres to store their treasures, some of which may seem worthless. In fact, each piece of these worthless items has an indelible story and history behind it. So, are they trash or treasures? Should we keep them or throw them away? It all depends, you make the decision based on your heart or your head!