The rooms smell faintly of industrial cleaner and musty carpet that never quite dries. The walls are a tired green awash in artificial fluorescent light. The long hallways are mostly quiet, interrupted by the occasional distant barking dog or the shuffle of other long-term guests, people between things, not entirely settled, carrying the weight of another life. Tucked behind freeway exits and forgotten intersections, these motels and hotels serve as makeshift homes for those edged out of the housing market and the American Dream. Through her lens, Karen Lippowiths reveals a hidden America — the precarious lives of low-wage workers, undocumented migrants, those battling addiction and mental illness — individuals surviving long-term in budget hotels in EXTENDED STAY. These residents exist in limbo, teetering between shelter and the streets, paycheck and pavement. Lippowiths reveals the quiet resilience and stark vulnerability of lives lived in limbo. Her intimate, unsentimental portraits humanize the marginalized, challenging viewers to confront the consequences of economic inequality. Her work aims to see what society chooses to ignore, and asks the question: Who gets to be seen?
Abandon vehicles on the banks of the Rio Grande along Route 68 between Santa Fe and Taos.
EXTENDED STAY - WYNDHAM BY RAMADA / SANTA FE
Scott Schroeder, founder of University of Minds, cares for the hollyhocks (pro bono) at the I-25 rest area heading north between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. He travels and lives in his RV, parked in the overflow lot nearby.
Scott Schroeder removes his has, wipes his brow, and washes his face in preparation for a photograph.
Scott Schroeder washes his hands at the northbound rest stop along I-25 north of Albuquerque.
Scott Schroeder wraps a handful of hollyhock buds in a Kleenex as a parting gift.
Mornings begin early for Natalie, who manages the Upper Crust, and Chris, who is a clerk at the Five and Dime.
Natalie and Chris get ready for a busy day.
Chris kisses the puppies. Four Care Bears along with myriad other stuffed animals decorate the room.
Natalie and Chris enjoy a daily free breakfast at the Wyndham by Ramada along Cerrillos Road.
The daily routine begins at the Wyndham.
Chris and Natalie pass time smoking and relaxing at the bus stop along Cerrillos Road.
The covered bus stop along Cerrillos Road.
A man panhandles in the center median of a chaotic and busy intersection where two double lane highways and train tracks cross at Cerrillos and S St. Francis Roads.
Natalie and Chris ride the bus to and from work along the Santa Fe Plaza each day.
A Guatemalan migrant worker with a broken arm spoke limited English yet beamed with pride when flashing an iPhone photo and talking about his daughter, who is studying to be a dental hygienist.
Metal fabrication artwork greets visitors to the Camino Real souvenir and gift shop along Cerrillos Road.
A former plumber, Leroy suffered an injury that led to a series of challenges that ultimately led him to homelessness. Each time we met up on the Cerrillos Road bus, Leroy was in some phase of searching for shelter for the night, preferring Pete's Place. From my brief encounters, he is a kind, articulate, thoughtful man.
Leroy called me a few weeks after leaving Santa Fe to "check in" and let me know that Pete's Place had been evacuated yesterday because of a bed infestation. While the city is trying to create temporary shelter for those impacted, not all will get a spot.
Leroy slept unsheltered that night.
LeRoy looks out the window as the bus crawls through rush hour traffic. We stop momentarily in front of the America's Mattress store.
A car passes in front of The Trading Post in downtown Santa Fe.
The adobe Museum of Art at the Palace of the Govenors along the Santa Fe plaza.
Chris and Natalie recount how they met.
Charles Southard's 1988 bronze Burro. In the 19th century, Burro Alley was the meeting spot of burros carrying fire wood, which was scarce in the . Owners would sell the wood then spend the money in saloons and brothels. Santa Fe is set at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on a high-desert landscape, largely devoid of trees and firewood.
Chris relaxes along the route to work at the Five and Dime.
A man along the Palace of the Governors brushes his teeth during a blues fest concert.
A man rests in the shaded overhang at the corner of E Water Street and Old Santa Fe Trail.
Reflection of a man sitting in the window of a store along the Plaza.
Natalie manages the Upper Crust. "I'm working a lot of double shifts cause my husband isn't getting hours right now. My left arm has been messed up for over a month. I'm hurting today but I gotta work all day today to make the money."
Natalie works to clear tables, fire pizzas, run the cash register, and manage the team at the Upper Crust on a busy summer day. She stops to chat with customers behind her who are traveling the country by RV.
Natalie pauses briefly in the kitchen of the Upper Crust. She is warm and animated. She works indefatigably and is well-liked by staff and customers alike.
At the end of her shift, Natalie takes a smoke break before heading for the bus.
"My mother forgot about me. I didn't know she died two years ago until someone told me. I'm never going to forget my kids. A mother elephant never fforgets."
Reflection of a sticker-graffiti filled wall in a Santa Fe boutique window.
Natalie purchases dog pee pads and a child's birthday gift at Five Below.
Natalie cleans up after Athena, who soiled the couch.
Natalie applies make up after work. "It just slides off my face in the hot kitchen" at the Upper Crust.
Natalie and Athena ride the elevator to go outside.
Natalie often doesn't wear makeup to work. Rather, she more often applies it when she arrives home.
Natalie arrives home before Chris and smokes behind a semi parked in the lot behind the hotel. The grounds are littered with broken glass, needles, and other debris. Athena is tethered and keeps nearby.
Chris's decorated hands as he awaits the bus.
Natalie and Chris embrace in the elevator heading up to "home."
Natalie and Athena in the elevator.
A highlighted bible, Indian totem, and candles carefully liad out on a hotel towel on the ottoman, a makeshift coffee table.
Chris sets the alarm for the morning.
A bible is laid out carefully on a hotel towel and opened to Psalm 23. "The Lord is my Shepherd . . ."
The night manager at the front desk of the Wyndham at Ramada in Santa Fe.
Sunset at the Rodeo de Santa Fe on barrell race night.
Michael Kott, the Cello Man, self-styled "transgalactic electro-cellist" virtuoso playing since the age of nine, formerly part of the Plank Road String Band, and current professor at the College of Santa Fe. We met on the Santa Fe plaza this past July.
The Stage Coach Motor Inn apartments.
Michael Kott, the Cello Man, smoking along the Santa Fe plaza.
A car passes by the King's Rest Court Inn budget hotel on Cerrillos Road.
The half-lit sign of the King's Rest Court Inn.
A young man searches for an outdoor place to sleep for the night.
A bicyclist passes in front of the Owl's Liquor near midnight.
Midnight along Cerrillos Road. A homeless man walks along.
