Poor Houses: Post-Luxury Mini-Homes for the Formerly Rich
This somewhat extreme (shall we say: lavish?) art-and-architecture project was, according to artist Kacey Wong, “inspired by the recent economic tsunami when the rich lost their fortune overnight.” The series of tongue-in-cheek mini-homes asks the question, how can one “live on the street but still maintain a facade of looking good and high style?”
For the future upper-middle-class homeless of Hong Kong, these mobile robo-shells are made for a luxury lifestyle on the go. Yes, there is clearly some satire built in – from the retro-futuristic robotic shells to the pictures of the formerly-wealthy inhabitants basking in the sun, playing golf and drinking champagne to keep up posh appearances despite their fall from grace.
Like some kind of cross between a coffin and a race car, these colorful mobile mini-homes are each sized (like a fine suit or custom dress) to fit each member of a well-rounded neuvo-poor family. From a relaxing romp in the park to a nice night out on the town, they are fashionably fit for virtually any occasion.
A precursor project by Kacey Wong known as Tin Man #11 (below) took on the question of homelessness in a likewise frank-but-funny fashion, pointing out through a simpler sort of robot – that doubles as a bed, desk and sofa – that many people without homes in Hong Kong choose to be so in order to save money and/or sleep closer to their place of work.
