The Whisper, Washington, D.C. 2008 by Cara Phillips

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.