Phillips, Cara

American, b. 1974 Detroit, MI

BiographyIn her Ultraviolet Beauties series (2007-2012), Cara Phillips examines the cultural trend to obsessively change, correct, and prevent indiscernible beauty flaws—a movement exacerbated by messages created by the cosmetic industry in media that artificially inflate standards of perfection. Phillips’s portraits—taken in her makeshift New York studio set up on the street—reveal freckles and scars on a person’s skin caused by sun damage and aging, that are undetectable unless viewed in UV light. While cosmetic dermatologists and medical spas use these types of photographs to sell the idea of fixing their patient’s invisible blemishes with an endless array of treatments and products, Phillips asks her subjects to investigate and reconsider their own perceptions of ideal beauty and perceived flaws.

Cara Phillips was born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit. Her interest in the beauty industry began with her working as a child model for Ford Models, also leading her to work as a makeup artist in luxury department stores throughout her mid-twenties. She earned her BA in photography from Sarah Lawrence College in 2007. She has shown work in solo exhibitions at Robert Morat Gallery, Hamburg (2013) and Singular Beauty, New York, NY (2013) among others. Her first monograph, Singular Beauty, was short-listed for the 2012 Paris Photo-Aperture Foundation First Book Award and won the Best Dutch Photo Book Design Award (2012).