Jimmi Ho’s laundry art captures cramped living space in Hong Kong

This article was originally published on Neocha and is republished with permission.

How do you dry your clothes? Do you hang them in the sun? Let them dry indoors? Or use a tumble-dryer?

In the densely populated city of Hong Kong, even space for laundry is limited. Photographer Jimmi Ho (何穎嘉 Hé Yǐngjiā)’s series, Laundry Art, showcases how locals make creative use of what little space they have. “I wanted to offer a new perspective on the practice of hanging laundry in public in this cramped city,” he explains.

None of the photos are staged or altered. Ho says that he often takes random walks without a set destination and captures what he sees along the way. “But sometimes I find places beforehand on Google Maps,” he adds. “I’ll go to a place at least two or three times to observe just how the people hang their laundry, what tools they use.”

It’s common to see locals cleverly make use of utility poles or other public property to tie up their clotheslines. “I try to combine contrasting elements into my photos,” he says. “Some of the images may appear a bit surreal, but that’s actually how Hong Kongers dry their laundry.”

One of the strangest places Ho’s seen people hang their laundry is up and down the handrails on a pedestrian walkway. “I sincerely admire the laundry skills and adaptability of Hong Kong’s residents,” he laughs.

Even though hanging laundry in the public is in a legal gray zone in Hong Kong, it’s a practice born of necessity. With a little ingenuity, locals explore and make the most of the public space around them. “Personal space has become more and more unaffordable, so any space that can be used is a precious commodity,” Ho says. “In a way, the laundry is inadvertently adding a sense of vitality to these public spaces.”

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Website: jimmi-ho.com
Instagram: @jimmi.ho

Contributor: Chen Yuan
English Translation: David Yen