Michael Nye was once a big-city lawyer — a life seemingly far away from the journey he has chosen to take over the past 4 1/2 years.
That journey has taken him to dark places, where people tell him their stories about not having anything to eat, about not having anything to drink ... about, simply, not having.
“I talked to a man that went to the Killing Fields in Cambodia, to one of the ambassadors to the U.N., to people who are drug addicts ... I interviewed one woman who was living out in the desert who was taking care of her five grandchildren. They didn’t have money. There was no agency. There were no benefits,” said Nye.
The San Antonio photographer has spent more than four years on a photography project called “About Hunger,” which has brought him to Wichita Falls this week. He went to Interfaith Ministries to photograph and interview two people about their experiences with hunger.
The exhibit opens in January at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, though a few of the images he has taken on this photographic journey will be on display from 6-8 p.m. today at the Kemp Center for the Arts at the capital campaign kickoff for the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank. Nye, the guest speaker, will talk about the stories he has heard from people who have experienced hunger.
“I really believe in stories. They are really a way to step out of your life and into another life,” he said.
Nye, who has been in Wichita Falls since Monday, spends eight hours or more with the people he interviews and photographs so he can give their stories their due. He has visited more than 20 cities, such as Dallas and Longview, New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., and Little Rock, Ark, for this project.
By the time he’s done, he will have completed 50 to 60 black and white portraits of people who have experienced hunger, along with accompanying audio commentary featuring the voice of the photographed person speaking about hunger in the context of their larger life.
It’s a format similar to his previous project, “Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness,” which the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at Midwestern State University exhibited in the fall of 2008.
“I’ve been traveling all around the country. I’ve heard so many stories. They’re all diverse.”
He said there’s an assumption that people are hungry because they don’t work hard enough or are just lazy or just made terrible mistakes.
But he’s learned hunger affects people who have mental illness, people who live productive lives or have had an illness and no financial safety net.
He’s learned that hunger does exist in America, he’s learned about chronic and episodic hunger, and he knows, “Once you’ve been really hungry, you’ll never be the same.”
Nye said with his photography projects it’s important for him to get a sense of community.
“This is an amazing city,” he said, “and the Food Bank really needs help. I hope they can get the support they need for a new space.”
Mary Stengel, the executive director at the Food Bank, met Nye at a conference in Austin about five years ago, then when he came to Wichita Falls in 2008 for his “Fine Line” exhibit, he mentioned he’d like to do some work in Wichita Falls for his photography project. Stengel was happy to help.
She said the Wichita Falls Area Food Bank is working toward raising $1.1 million for a three-phase warehouse expansion to add 12,400 square feet to the existing facility. The organization also wants to remodel 1,270 square feet, install a large refrigeration unit and a backup generator.
“We currently have $250,000 pledged toward that ... Each team worker is challenged to raise $4,500 each. With each worker that would be $40,000. The rest we hope to raise through grant-writing.”
The campaign will wrap up Nov. 20 and the organization hopes to break ground in early 2010.
In the end, Nye hopes he can help the Food Bank and that his exhibit will convey more than the fact that there is hunger in America.