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Ethnic minorities in Hong Kong
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Domestic helper turned photographer returns to Hong Kong with exhibition on ‘invisible’ migrant workers

  • Xyza Cruz Bacani rose to fame because of the photos she took on her Sundays off in Hong Kong
  • The Filipino’s exhibition is an attempt to reclaim the story of the migrant worker

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A photo by Xyza Cruz Bacani. The court case between former Indonesian domestic worker, Erwiana Sulistyaningsih, and her then employer, Law Wan-tung, revealed the extent to which abuse against migrant workers can be perpetrated before they are detected. Photo: Xyza Cruz Bacani
Enid Tsui

Xyza Cruz Bacani will soon return to Hong Kong, where she worked as a domestic helper for years, to launch a solo photographic exhibition and a photo book commissioned by the WYNG Foundation, a private charity that promotes the discussion of social issues in the city.

Bacani, 31, first shot to fame when she became a recipient of the 2015 Human Rights Fellowship by the Magnum Foundation because of the photos she took on her Sundays off in Hong Kong.

Since then, she has been developing her career as a professional documentary photographer, focusing on the plight of foreign domestic workers in Asia and beyond. She is currently working on a series about education in her home country, the Philippines.

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The upcoming exhibition in Hong Kong is based on a series she created as part of the WMA Commission in 2016-17. The series is an attempt to reclaim the story of the migrant worker by someone who is a second-generation domestic worker in Hong Kong.

Migrant domestic workers in a beauty pageant in Hong Kong. Photo: Xyza Cruz Bacani
Migrant domestic workers in a beauty pageant in Hong Kong. Photo: Xyza Cruz Bacani
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Five years ago, Razel Anne asked Xyza’s mother to help her find a job in Hong Kong. As the cost of living in the Philippines increased, Razel was worried about her daughter Tanisha’s future. Tanisha was three when Razel left. Razel is aware that her daughter has found it very difficult to cope with the separation. But she believes that it is only by leaving that Tanisha will have a brighter future, even if that means she has to put up with exhaustion, insomnia and the feeling of despondence that springs up all the time. Photo: Xyza Cruz Bacani
Five years ago, Razel Anne asked Xyza’s mother to help her find a job in Hong Kong. As the cost of living in the Philippines increased, Razel was worried about her daughter Tanisha’s future. Tanisha was three when Razel left. Razel is aware that her daughter has found it very difficult to cope with the separation. But she believes that it is only by leaving that Tanisha will have a brighter future, even if that means she has to put up with exhaustion, insomnia and the feeling of despondence that springs up all the time. Photo: Xyza Cruz Bacani
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