Built on reclaimed tracts, the Hong Kong neighborhood of Kwai Chung is home to one of the world’s busiest commercial ports, a sprawl of Lego-like shipping containers clogging the shores of Rambler Channel. Just a few kilometers from the cargo terminals, among the warehouses and auto-body shops further inland, is artist Leelee Chan’s studio. After circling the nondescript loading bays of one industrial building, I eventually located the elevator and ascended to a dimly lit floor, where a cheery yellow door distinguishes Chan’s studio from its drab surrounds.
The studio occupies one of the higher levels, with large windows letting in ample sunlight. Small yet airy, the studio is impressively compartmentalized so as to wrestle the cramped workbenches, storage areas, and miscellaneous clutter into a semblance of order. The artist herself, in a blue-striped shirt tucked into dark jeans, also
