Award-winning photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani tells the tale of her mother, a Filipino domestic helper who has spent half of her life in Hong Kong. Also featuring the stories of other female migrant workers, this compilation of Bacani’s characteristic black-and-white photographs offers a poignant account of their life away from home and reveals a lesser-known side of Hong Kong beyond the city’s skyscrapers and mega malls.

In this book, Bacani, who used to be a domestic worker herself, reclaims the story of the migrant worker that has been told countless times by others. This time around, she is telling their own story – not as victims but as champions who have overcome the many hardships life has tossed at them as they leave their families behind in their home country. The book portrays the experience of millions of mothers, daughters and families whose lives have been disrupted by migration. “We Are Like Air” because migrant workers are often treated like air, invisible but important.

Xyza Cruz Bacani (b.1987) is a Filipina Street and Documentary photographer based in Hong Kong who uses her work to raise awareness about under-reported stories. Having worked as a second-generation domestic worker in Hong Kong for almost a decade, she is particularly interested in the intersection of labour migration and human rights. She is a Magnum Foundation Photography and Social Justice Fellow in 2015, has exhibited worldwide, and won awards in photography. She is also the recipient of a resolution (HR No.1969) that was passed by the Philippines House of Representatives in her honour. Xyza is one of Asia Society’s Asia 21 Young Leaders in 2018, the WMA Commission grantee in 2017, a Pulitzer Center grantee, and an Open Society Moving Walls grantee in 2017. She is one of the BBC’s 100 Women of the World 2015, 30 Under 30 Women Photographers 2016, Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2016, and a FUJIFILM Ambassador.

菲律賓紀實女攝影師Xyza Cruz Bacani以黑白攝影作品系列《活著如風》講述她母親以及其他女性在港作為外傭的故事，影像配以富故事性的個人物品及錄像，生動地描述出她們遠鄉別井的生活，並揭示了摩天都市以及大型購物中心以外的香港其鮮為人知的一面。《活著如風》透過寫實的作品，以及粵語、英語、菲律賓(他加祿語)與印尼四語，希望令公眾重新認識及反思外傭在香港的故事。

來自菲律賓的Xyza Cruz Bacani的作品曾獲紐約時報Lens Blog、CNN及其他國際媒體廣泛報導，作為一名曾於香港工作接近十年的外籍家庭傭工，Xyza致力利用攝影去發掘未被關注的議題，聚焦於移民及人權等題材。攝影集之所以命名為《活著如風》，是因為外傭的存在有如空氣一樣，看不見但非常重要。

Xyza Cruz Bacani 出生於1987年，是一名菲律賓籍的駐港紀實攝影師。作為一位曾於香港工作接近十年的第二代家庭傭工，她特別關注移民及人權的議題，希望能藉攝影作品令更多人關心外傭的處境。她曾於2015年獲Magnum Foundation選為Photography and Social Justice Fellow，亦在世界各地進行巡迴展覽，並取得多個攝影獎項。她更獲菲律賓眾議院通過決議案（HR No.1969）以 特別表揚她在攝影方面的卓越成就。Xyza曾獲各項殊榮，包括被選為2018年度亞洲協會「亞洲21青年領袖」 、2016年「30位30歲以下出色女攝影師」（30 Under 30 Women Photographers） 、《福布斯 》「30位30歲以下亞洲菁英」（30 Under 30 Asia）、2015年BBC 全球百大女性及FUJIFILM大使。她亦是WMA委託計劃2016/17年 、普立茲中心資助計劃（2017）及開放社會基金會「移除高牆」項目（2017）得主。