The photographs in Hey, Hot Shot! contender Cara Phillips' series, Singular Beauty, feel similar to Taryn Simon's An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar: these are things we aren't meant to see. As Cara writes:
Cosmetic surgery is now a common, if still stigmatized, part of our culture. When you enter the offices of Cosmetic Surgeons you not only discover the promise of happiness but also the fear, self-loathing, anxiety, and desire of millions of Americans. This collection of photographs, resulted from both a personal struggle with body issues, and a long history in the beauty business. While photographing these doctor's offices, I was less interested in capturing the actual place or thing, than in capturing the experience of it...There is something really unsettling about The Whisper; I don't know what it is and its glows makes me think it's a Pandora's Box. So, I Googled "The Whisper" and "cosmetic surgery" to find out exactly what this machine does, and while the search yielded an answer, it's an Extended Ablation Laser, I also found lots of gossipy articles about, among other things, a wife who won her cheating husband back with cosmetic surgery. It seems we still whisper about cosmetic surgery because all of the fear, self-loathing, anxiety, and desire that Cara is talking about mark really personal tragedies and victories. But like in Pandora's Box, I think, hope remains the reason the industry exists, whether or not it's something we want to see, talk, or hear about.
Things not to whisper about: Cara's other achievements. She writes a well-respected blog about photography, Ground Glass and is also the co-founder/co-curator of Women in Photography, an online exhibition project featuring the work of emerging and established female artists.