Mall Workers (2019)

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The "Mall Workers" project stems from my time working retail at a local mall throughout my college years. I got the job when I was a freshman and quickly learned that what everyone said about retail was true: it was awful. I was really fortunate in that I had a generally good experience at my job and loved the people I worked with, as well as the store I worked for; however, no number of amazing co-workers or company benefits could make up for the abuse and disrespect I faced at my job. 

 

Within a month, I realized just how nameless and forgettable I could be to the customers that came into my store, wanting only the product from me, at the best price possible, with complete disregard for common human decency. I worked at the mall for over three years, and during that time I had been yelled at and belittled; I had been told that I was rude, a liar, or worse; I had people get in my face to scream at me, so close that I could see the sweat on their brow– all because I was trying to do my job. This wasn’t always the case, though. For as many bad customer experiences I had, there were twice as many good ones, but that still didn’t erase how less human I felt because of the way I had been treated.

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Mall Workers is my way of making retail employees people again. I went to 25 different stores in my mall and asked a worker in each to pose for me. It’s easy to see these people as just their uniform or a means to an end, but they all have a name and personality and life outside of their job. Through consistent, straight-on compositions, these portraits force you to recognize the subject as a human. There’s a part of all of us that wants to be recognized, and in a work environment where you’re so constantly overlooked as a person, this was my chance to give mall workers an opportunity to be seen.