The Grey Area

The Grey Area

Charcoal on greyboard, 2016

The piece is segmented, cut into four sections referencing the poured concrete sections of reinforced concrete buildings, the backdrop of a theatrical and daily activity in Hong Kong. Sweeping is critical in the daily routine of the city. In light of the Buddhist practice of sweeping the city may be seen as a kind of revered temple. Trees here advance no further than their containers permit, meaning each becomes a kind of city Bonsai. Tended closely.

The streets of Hong Kong are swept by some of the poorest in the society, who are often also some of the oldest. 

Another highly visible job carried out by this group is the collection of unwanted cardboard. As metal trolleys are wheeled along the pavements, the precarious height of cardboard towers reach their physically manageable limits, they are pushed to collection points. From here the material re-enters a global network where the paper pulp is recycled and shipped once again. The low value and status of greyboard used here references this material cycle. The contrast between rich and poor is seen though a stark microcosm, negotiated in the economy of extremes. 

The archetypes of the Bonsai and the street-sweeper provide a space to consider status and value, object and maker.