Hoarders
I started the "Hoarders” photography series in 2016. Through this series, I strive to demonstrate the hoarder's psychological state of mind by capturing their bizarre living conditions. After shooting over twenty individual cases of hoarders, I was able to identify two common traits among them: Firstly, all hoarders share a crippling fear of loss. Secondly, they lack a sense of security in their lives. Both traits can perhaps be attributed to past experiences. In most cases, individuals are either unaware of the abnormal environment in which they dwell or feel powerless towards their situation.
For majority of the cases, the hoarders’ actions have had serious repercussions on their own lives and those of family members living with them. The hoarders exhibit a distinct lack of insight into their hoarding habits. After interviewing each case subject and hearing about their past experiences, I was able to gain a deeper understanding as to why they are compelled to hoard. While society can be quick to view these people in a negative light, I have come to see that they are greatly misunderstood; in fact what they need the most is our care and support.
What is it that causes hoarders to be terrified of loss and be so lacking in a sense of security, that they feel compelled to seek relief through the act of hoarding? Hoarding has long been a neglected mental illness. It is currently unknown if the act of hoarding can be classified as a specific illness or merely a symptom brought on by some other illness. Be that as it may, there is no doubt of the extreme stress this habit exerts on a person at both a physical and psychological level.
囤積者
「囤積者」"Hoarders" 系列攝影專題，從2016開始創作至今，我試圖以影像拍攝囤積者的居住空間，呈現他們的心理狀態。在拍攝了數十家庭之後，總結了兩個共同特質：一是囤積者因為極度害怕失去；其次是囤積者通常在生活中極度缺乏安全感。所有的連結都是因為他們曾經有過的生命經驗。囤積者可以沒有自覺地在充滿物品包圍中的環境生活著，或是對自己囤積這件事到感到無能為力，甚至多數已經嚴重影響了自己、家人和鄰居的居住品質，也因此造成家人紛紛離家及長期鄰居的嫌惡，然而台灣的媒體對於偶爾出現的囤積家庭，僅以獵奇的角度做簡單的報導，並未平衡報導以至於造成社會大眾對其囤積症的誤解。
囤積症在2013年《精神疾病診斷與統計手冊》第五版中被定義為精神疾病，我、在深入訪談了解他們的生命經驗，並對應了他們的居住空間，有了合理的連結，反思後也了解，他們需要的其實是關懷和有效的協助。而我也希望透過攝影的視覺張力，以另一種觀點，讓社會大眾瞭解囤積症是怎麼一回事。囤積者的狀態長期以來是一個被忽視的症狀，但不管如何，在心理層面或居住空間的表象，這都是一項重大而艱鉅的工程。
囤積症在2013年《精神疾病診斷與統計手冊》第五版中被定義為精神疾病，我、在深入訪談了解他們的生命經驗，並對應了他們的居住空間，有了合理的連結，反思後也了解，他們需要的其實是關懷和有效的協助。而我也希望透過攝影的視覺張力，以另一種觀點，讓社會大眾瞭解囤積症是怎麼一回事。囤積者的狀態長期以來是一個被忽視的症狀，但不管如何，在心理層面或居住空間的表象，這都是一項重大而艱鉅的工程。
