We Gift The Urbanites with Fresh Breeze (Hongkong, 2013)

For this project, the residents on the outskirts of the city state of Honk Kong – farmers, gardeners, teachers, and people who have lived there their entire lives – donated their home-grown plants to Hongkongers in densely populated city districts. In doing so, they share their idyllic surroundings and love for nature, and point out that greenery is highly important for clean air in smog-polluted cities. In exchange, the urbanites made ‘sunny dolls’, an old countryside tradition where a handmade doll symbolises sunlight and a healthy life. The outskirts, however, are threatened by the Chinese megacity of Shenzhen, which lies directly on the border of Hong Kong and is one of the fastest growing cities on the planet. Due to the economic cooperation with Hong Kong, people on the outskirts are forced to give up their houses, fields, and fresh air. Urban development, focused on consumption and laziness, consequently inflicts irreversible damage to the natural environment.