HALEY MORRIS-CAFIERO: Wait Watchers

Flanders / Marilyn:  Palm Springs, CA

© Haley Morris-Cafiero

 

 Titan: New York, NY

 © Haley Morris-Cafiero

Gelato

 © Haley Morris-Cafiero

Cops: New York, NY  

© Haley Morris-Cafiero

Vitoria:  Barcelona, Spain 
© Haley Morris-Cafiero

I met Haley Morris-Cafiero and viewed her series "Wait Watchers" less than a year ago at Chicago's 2013 FilterPhoto Festival. Since that time, her work has exploded onto the photography scene. It was chosen by curator Kyohei Abe (Director and Chief Curator at the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography) for his exhibition "Juxtapose" at the Darkroom Gallery; chosen by curator Susan Burnstine for her show "The Visual Narrative" at the Minneapolis Photo Center; chosen for the Houston Center for Photography's 32nd Annual Exhibition juried by Malcolm Daniel; and soon to be seen on The Photoville FENCE in both New York and Atlanta.

Haley is based in Memphis. She received her MFA in Art from the University of Arizona and her BFA in Ceramics and BA in Photography from University of North Florida. She is currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Photography Department at Memphis College of Art. She uses film and digital rangefinders to capture her images. The unaltered images are printed using digital process.

The Series: WAIT WATCHERS

"I have always had a hard time controlling my weight. My....exterior has determined my place in society and I have often felt left out and awkward. I photograph myself in socially engaged spaces to examine how my body fits into society."

"For my series, Wait Watchers, I set up a camera in a heavy-traffic, public area and take hundreds of photographs as I perform mundane, everyday tasks as people pass by me. I then examine the images to see if any of the passersby had a critical or questioning element in their face or in their body language. I consider my photographs a social experiment and I travel the world in an attempt to photograph the reactions of a diverse pool of passersby."

 

"I seek out places that are beautifully lit, allow for an interesting composition and, if possible, set up a scene that references ideal feminine beauty and societal expectations. I put the camera on a tripod, bench or with an assistant, in full view of the by-passing gazer, set the focus and exposure and take hundreds of photographs."

"The images capture the gazer in a Cartier-Bresson, microsecond moment where the shutter, the scene, my actions and their body language align and are presented to the viewer. While I do not know what they are thinking, the gazer appears to be visually troubled that I am in front of them."

HALEY MORRIS-CAFIERO