New Zealand photographer Henry Hargreaves, who previously captured Ernest Hemmingway impersonators and photographed burning food, has an eye-opening series titled ‘No Seconds’ in which he documents the last meals of death row inmates.
In an interview with Vice, Hargreaves said he has always been fascinated by people’s choices with food, and was inspired to embark on the series after reading about a campaign to abolish the last meal tradition in Texas.
Hargreaves was struck by the existence of the death penalty in America, a country that prides itself on democracy and freedom. His project description states, “In New Zealand (where I’m from), and in fact nearly any where else in the developed world, the Death Penalty is just not even in the conversation. It is a remnant of an earlier era. This little bit of civility, ‘hey we are going to kill you but what would you like to eat?’ just jumped off the page.”
Hargreaves recreated the meals with the help of a chef friend who handled the more complex meals while he made the simpler ones. Some unusual requests include Timothy McVeigh’s two pints of mint and chocolate chip ice cream and Victor Feguer’s single olive. Interestingly, most of the meals consisted of fried food which is synonymous with comfort food, suggesting that the condemned prisoners just wanted some comfort in their final moments of life.
Neatly arranged and accompanied by the names and particulars of the respective serial killers, the photos are an oddly morbid and poignant look into their minds before their executions. Hargreaves prefers to leave the interpretation of his images up to viewers and stressed that it wasn’t his intention to humanize the inmates or exploit the choices of their last meals for shock value.
Check out Hargreaves’ photos below and view more at his website.
[via Vice, images via Henry Hargreaves]