Five Petals of Life: Faces of Hong Kong’s Foreign Domestic Helpers
For Christy, also known as Bittersweet, the project represents more than art—it is a journey of healing and reconciliation with her own childhood experiences with foreign domestic workers. “Most of the time, we can only see things on the surface,” she reflects, believing the project has given her a broader perspective on life and people.
On a sunlit Sunday afternoon in Central’s Connaught Garden, Christy arrives with her drawing cart, folding tables and stools. Amid city gardens and swirling crowds, she unfolds her cart, sets out her sample drawings, and places a hand-lettered sign – “Free Portrait” and “Talk To Me”.
It was here that her three years of street-side sketching of foreign domestic workers on their holidays began. Each portrait told her a story of life deeper than lines on paper. She reads and draws faces.
This year, Christy exhibited “Her Holiday”, showcasing part of the collection at the Eaton Hotel in Hong Kong, from Sept. 7 to Oct 7.
We invite Christy to share five stories that came to her eyes and her pens.
The local artist Christy – also known as Bittersweet – sees creating as a way to heal and embrace her unpleasant childhood experience with a foreign domestic care-giver.
“I had a rather negative experience with the foreign domestic helper who took care of me when I was young… and the more I grow up, the more I want to know about her,” Christy said.
Her curiosity about the care-giver’s perspectives during her upbringing has inspired her to approach the community and invite them for a life drawing.
1. “Youth” (2022)
Her first portraits came in 2022. A woman from the Philippines, dressed in blue, handed Christy a photograph. She asked Christy to sketch a girl in yellow captured in the image—confidently posed in a studio portrait.
Christy curiously asked whether this girl was the lady’s daughter – but then the lady corrected her that it was her younger self. “ I was very shocked (「震驚」）…I wondered if she might be upset by my question,” Christy recalled in Cantonese. To ease the moment, she invited the woman to sit for a portrait on the spot. As she drew, the woman kept her eyes down, absorbed in her phone.
Christy noticed a contrast: the woman before her looked older, wearier, her face lined with wrinkles absent from the photograph. Yet she chose not to smooth away the blemish in her sketch.
The two paired portraits were later introduced during an exhibition tour.
One participant, Li Chun Chun, a university graduate of cultural management, spent times studying this portrait. The two faces left her continue wondering: “This lady carries a photo of herself everywhere she goes. Is it possible that, to her, the young girl in the photo remains the best version of herself?”
2. “Hong Kong Life Is So Tough ” (2022)
“Hong Kong Life Is So Tough” was born in July when Hong Kong temperature broke records. Christy sketched the profile of an Indonesian domestic helper in hijab who reluctantly agreed to sit for her.
The lady told her that living in Hong Kong was “tough (「辛苦」)”. She had previously worked caring for a disabled person, with barely any rest. Her requests of employers were few: not to hit her, to pay her, to let her sleep, and to give her food.
It was also a time for Christy to learn. “I struggled with whether to continue the conversation,” she admitted. “I worried I might cause her secondary trauma. At that time, I wasn’t mature enough. I wasn’t prepared for the dark side of working as a foreign domestic worker.”
Komsiatun Daffa, originally from Santiago, is working as a domestic worker in Hong Kong, gets to know the exhibition from her friends. Hearing this story during the exhibition tour, she shared her empathy: “I can feel the lady in the potrait… It’s such a blessing to hear stories like these, because we, the foreign domestic helpers, rarely open up, even to our own families…”
3. “The Greatest Enemy is Yourself” (2023)
Christy was amazed when the lady shared her philosophy: one must first love herself— so she jogs every day to stay healthy and strong.
“When I was sketching her, I insisted on including the cushion she was holding… It was just too lovely,” said Christy. Unlike her other life drawings done in Central and Wanchai, this sketch thoughtfully incorporates a detailed background. “We often see foreign domestic helpers gathering on the street on their days off. Look at the colorful picnic mat and the cushion—they’re transforming these public spaces into a home,” Christy observed.
4. “A Woman Born Free” (2024)
“I felt like a casting agent when I met her,” Christy recalled.
“Her vibe was so charming… I just knew I had to sketch her!” Christy’s subject was at Victoria Park that day, learning to say “Thank you” in Cantonese from the boss at a nearby drinks stall. Christy noticed her cool presence: she wore a volleyball t-shirt with bold flair, while her friend was casually doing her nails in the park.
After some conversation, the woman confided, “I just wanna be single.” She enjoyed dating but had no desire to be tied down by marriage. “She’s a very cool person,” said Christy. After finishing the drawing, Christy was invited to join them in filming a TikTok dance.
5. “A Hazy Smile” (2024)
Christy was immediately struck by the character of the woman, who was smoking and drinking with friends. “She was very friendly… but I sensed our conversation could not go deep,” Christy recalled. This gentle distance reminded her of people from her past. “Maybe the care-giver from my childhood was living a life I could never have understood back then?” Christy mused, leaving the question for herself.
“Most of the time, we can only see things on the surface,” Christy reflected, believing that the project has given her a broader perspective of life – and on people.
Other than portraits, Christy displayed an array of little flowers that she picked from the parks she visited at the exhibition. Over the years, during her lowest moments, one of her models introduced her to a song with the lyric, “I can buy myself flowers.”
The words have stayed with her to this day.
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