The Weight Watchers: Candid Photos Taken By An Obese Woman Reveal How Strangers Really React To Her On The Street

An overweight woman who photographs herself in public to capture the cruel looks and stares she attracts has turned her series of portraits into a book. The Watchers shows photos of Haley Morris-Cafiero, an artist from Memphis, Tennessee, taken in different social settings around the world over six years. The 40-year-old positions a camera and stations herself in front of it in public spaces to take photos of herself and capture the reaction of those passing by.

“Four years ago, I started the Wait Watchers photographic series when I was taking a self-portrait in Times Square. After I got the film developed I noticed that there was a man behind me and he appeared to be sneering at me.”, says Haley.

“It intrigued me that even though we were in the sensory overload capital of the world and he is being photographed by someone, he was fixated on me. And then it happened 5 minutes later on the same roll of film. Since then, I have set up my camera for the purpose of capturing the expressions of passersby.
“, she added.

“When I get home, I look at each frame to see if anyone in the photograph had a critical or questioning look on their face or gesture in their body language. While I do not know what the passerby is thinking, my goal is to reverse the gaze back onto the stranger and start a conversation. I am very interested in how society uses their gaze to project emotions and then how we interpret the looks of others.”