A Peek Inside Hoarder Houses

I have always been interested in exploring the intricate relationships built between people and objects. This photographic body of work, which started in 2011, is about hoarders and the objects they feel an urge to keep. Motivated by (in)famous American TV programmes on hoarding and maybe as a somehow angry response to the insensitivity they displayed towards the collectors of apparent garbage, I felt urged to see these places myself, and to talk to hoarders to try to understand what lies behind their compulsive need for having. — Paula Salischiker

Argentinian photographer Paula Salischiker opens the door to the cluttered, uncomfortable home of hoarders in the United Kingdom. Attempting to understand the humanity in the mess, Salischiker attended multiple self-help groups in London and Essex to meet those who struggle. Surrounding by their ever-expanding collection of objects and trash, hoarders often feel lonely and paranoid about those in the outside world discovering their condition. Unable to see the debris about them, subjects were shocked by the photographs of their own homes. All admit the chaos and disorder somehow remains invisible.

I didn’t even know this was here, can’t remember where I got it from, or whether it is even mine. – Anonymous Hoarder

After spending many months documenting and being told about each “treasure”, Salischiker feels that she now understands the relationship between these objects and the struggle for those who find it hard to master the art of losing.

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