Artist Appreciation- Henry Hargreaves

     Henry Hargreaves' collection No Seconds has been turning heads since it's release. The photographer features the last meals of some of the most horrific men ever to walk down Death Row- including Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bombing 1999), and John Wayne Gracy (serial murderer). Hargreaves' pieces are aesthetically pleasing as any other culinary photography, but also chilling, giving the viewer an intimate view into a criminal's last few moments of life. In Vice.com's interview with the artist, Hargreaves explains his fascination with the final meals.
"I’m really interested in people’s choices with food. It’s one of those things that everyone does several times a day, but you never really see it out of context or think about what it says about someone. I was reading about a campaign to abolish the last meal in Texas, so I went online and researched it. And as I was reading through these records, I felt that I could identify with these people for a brief moment just from what they ordered.'     The hidden meaning behind Hargreaves' choice of subject was a political one. Being a native New Zealander, Hargreaves saw the American justice system (specifically, the death penalty, still legal in many states) as inhumane and contradictory with American values."It’s seen by most of the world as this outdated, barbaric act. And it’s strange that it still exists in a country that spends so much time advertising their democracy and morals to the rest of the world."
Hargreaves, through creative and (and appetizing) means, has stabbed at one of the most pressing and controversial issues in America today- should the Death Penalty be abolished completely? Or is it a reasonable means of justice, an eye for an eye? Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

Quotes were taken from here, a formal interview with the artist.