Phonesex

Phillip Toledano

240 pp., 200 color and B&W illustrations, 10” x 7.7”

reviewed by

Corey Dzenko

 

Phillip Toledano’s second book Phonesex offers visual access to a group of people only heard, but not typically seen performing in their fantasy roles.  Toledano photographed Phonesex Operators (PSO) inside, many in the room in which they take their calls.  He also interviewed them and their statements accompany their color photographs.  Two things become apparent in this project. 

First, Toledano’s approach to photographing the PSOs emphasizes this activity as one that takes place in seclusion.  The PSOs are framed alone and mostly without visual access to the outside world.  Few windows are visible to viewers.  When the image contains a window, curtains or security bars prevent a clear view to the outside.  Furthermore, Toledano emphasizes the isolation of the PSOs through his use of lighting.  The interior environments are darker and the frame vignetted.  Light highlights the PSO, often centered in the frame.

Second, Toledano’s subjects illustrate the variety of people drawn to this job in their varied private spaces while their texts describe their experiences and reasons for working as a PSO.  One woman began working as a PSO during the night so that she could take care of her sick grandmother during the day.  Another PSO works to save money for her children’s college funds and she is depicted sitting on a couch as photographs of her children hang on the wall above her.  One of the few male PSOs in the book talks about how he makes his sound effects for callers, such as knocking a chair against a table to simulate the sound of a headboard knocking against the wall.  Toledano depicted this PSO seated in profile as he reaches to grab the chair that is across the table with his right hand.  He wears a white tank top, blue jeans, work boots, and an earpiece on his left ear while he holds a phone in his left hand.  Light streams into the otherwise empty room from a doorway at the left side of the frame.

Toledano’s choice of topic and cohesive formal approach to his subjects allows viewers to see the visual world behind the audio fantasy, offering striking pairs of images and text without passing judgment.