Corners Where Sanitation Workers Rest

In the suburban Guangzhou community where I lived for several years, many sanitation workers had no designated break room. They often rested in stairwells, underground car parks, beside walls, or under trees. Through repeated daily use, places never designed for rest gradually became their informal resting corners.

I passed these spaces every day without paying them much attention. Only when I was preparing to move away did I realise that these overlooked corners recorded how urban space is distributed, and where different bodies are permitted to remain.

The series focuses on moments when labour is briefly suspended: sitting down, waiting, and recovering physical strength. When a worker’s labour is continually required by the city, while their rest can take place only in a stairwell, garage, or hidden corner, the space itself reveals their position within urban life.

Whether a chair can be provided, whether a body is allowed to remain still, and whether rest is granted a recognised place all define boundaries within the city. Through these small and specific sites, the work examines the relationship between labour, rest, and the distribution of urban space.