Fish Farm Houses is a visual study of these temporary-turned-permanent functional buildings by the fish ponds in the northern New Territories of Hong Kong, as part of a research of fish farming culture by anthropologist Sidney Cheung. A lot of these houses were built in the 1960s without an architect at a certain size limited by the government, of mixed materials of wood, concrete and metal sheet.
Fish farming in Hong Kong is a sunset industry with its glory back in the early eighties. Now most people in Hong Kong consume fish from the Mainland China. The remaining fish farmers are mainly elderly who have moved out from these farm houses which once were called home for them and their family. Traces of life remains in these houses which were turned into a makeshift rest place or sleep quarters for imported helpers from the Mainland. The mushrooming towers in Shenzhen offer a contrasting backdrop for the dilapidated houses set in the rural Hong Kong.
Albeit its anthropological approach, Fish Farm Houses also explores beyond the documentary function to negotiate the voyeuristic look by means of large format camera and sizeable prints.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |