Z-Axis (2014–16)

Artist statement

Hong Kong is situated on a hilly and mountainous terrain. Because of the lack of natural flat land, Hong Kong simply does not have the prerequisite to be designed into a grid system—a town planning method that is found in many other world cities. According to the Hong Kong Planning Department, about 47% of the land in Hong Kong lies above 100 mPD.* Almost half of Hong Kong therefore has to be built on uplands, resulting in what is commonly known as a multi-level urban design.

This series is my attempt to document the type of multi-level urban design that is shaped by the hilly and mountainous terrain in Hong Kong. Z-axis, in mathematical terms, refers to the depth of an object in a three-dimensional coordinate system. Looking into the Hong Kong urban landscape along the Z-axis, I intended to find out how the topographical factor impacts Hong Kong people’s habitation, and to what extent the land has been altered in an attempt to adapt to the natural environment.

*mPD refers to metres above Principal Datum, i.e. 1.23m below the mean sea level in Hong Kong.