Hayley Krichels: Photographic Fragments Reimagine the Human Body

Albuquerque-based artist Hayley Krichels creates photo-sculptural works that dismantle and reassemble images of the human body, exploring themes of alienation, identity, and the strangeness of embodiment. Her practice involves layering, cutting, and reworking close-up photographs of hair, skin, and hands into abstract, kaleidoscopic compositions. Notable works include 'An Accumulation of Rectangles' (2026), 'Am I Doing This Right (Curls)' (2026), 'Contact Sheet Study' (2026), 'Fingers Like Sausages' (2025), 'Double Jointed or Something' (2025), and 'Arms Like Trees' (2026). Krichels describes herself as 'a creature hiding inside a woman's body,' a characterization that decouples presence from identity. Her process involves recursive replication, dissection, and recombination, creating figurations that challenge perception. The artist's work is featured in an article on Southwest Contemporary, which highlights her unique approach to photography and sculpture. Krichels's pieces are rendered in archival inkjet prints and silver gelatin contact prints, with dimensions varying from 18 x 24 inches to 40 x 32 inches. Her work invites viewers to consider the loneliness and wonder of having a body, using the camera as a disembodied eye shared between artist and audience.