FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Low lighting in the Eastern Shore Art Center masked Becky Phillips’ tears, but her voice exposed the raw emotion evoked by what she saw and, more important, what she heard.

“She really made me feel like what happened to her could happen to me,” said Phillips of Loxley, one of about 100 patrons who filed through the Fairhope museum Thursday for the opening of “About Hunger and Resilience.”

The woman in question was identified only as Tia, and her story spoken in her own rhythmic cadence detailed her descent into destitution following the death of her husband and her resolve to provide for her family.

The interactive photographic and audio exhibit runs through Nov. 12, offering local residents a glimpse into the lives of 30 people across the country who are either struggling with hunger or have emerged stronger for the experience.

Five-minute, first-person audio recordings are paired with stark, black-and-white photos intended to put real faces with the very real stories of hunger.

With headphones blocking out all of the room’s chatter — save for the baby grand piano imparting an almost hypnotic soundtrack to the stories recounted — Phillips said the stories she heard resonated so powerfully with her because she became immersed in the experience.

“You get completely taken in by them when you hear their stories,” she said.

Crafted by San Antonio artist Michael Nye, “About Hunger and Resilience” is as much about the triumph of the human spirit as it is the physical experience of the thinning line between the haves and the have-nots.

“We all want our lives to matter, to contribute to the world around us, and this is an opportunity to step outside of your life and into the life of another,” Nye said, calling each featured storyteller a teacher. “Each and every one of these people understands something about their experience with hunger that you could never possibly know without hearing their story. You might think you know, but you don’t.”

Fairhope sculptor Bruce Larsen said he hopes Nye’s exhibit will not only raise awareness but spark action.

“This show is very timely. I think Americans are a bit surprised by the conditions developing around them. I think they’re taking more notice of the hunger they see and developing more empathy because they realize it could be them next,” Larsen said. “I don’t care how rich you are. On a basic human level you’re not going to be able to take any of it with you. I think a lot of Americans feel like they deserve everything they have, and maybe we don’t.”

Larsen applauded Nye for capturing the true voice of the real people affected by hunger because it is only through their personal stories that the issue can ever be truly understood.

“I think good art comes from pain. I think you have to have experienced something traumatic to gain that extra layer of understanding, and there’s no question (Nye) has used his medium to communicate that understanding,” he said.

Dan Smalley of Chattanooga, Tenn., said the exhibit struck a definite chord within him.

“A lot of stories here hit close to the heart. I sometimes think we take our everyday lives for granted and tend to try to ignore what makes us uncomfortable,” said Smalley, who was visiting friends in Fairhope.

Thom Dumas of Spanish Fort said he was struck immediately by Nye’s ability to remove stereotypes from the raw discussion of hunger.

If you look across all of the portraits in this room, there’s no stereotypical pattern. They’re black and white. They’re young and old. Hunger really doesn’t fit into a mold, and I think Michael (Nye) did a good job of capturing that,” said Dumas, who serves as youth minister at Providence United Methodist Church.

But it’s not just the portraits alone that affected Dumas; it’s the anguish, the humanity and the determination to keep going.

“You can hear it in their voices, and that’s incredibly powerful, especially when you realize sometimes we’re all just one bad life event from being in the same shoes as some of these people,” Dumas said.

“You forget statistics, but you don’t forget a story,” said Nye, who spent between 60 and 80 hours on each personal story, editing as much as 10 hours of recorded conversations spanning as many as three days into five-minute snapshots of each participant’s experience.

“I want people to hear the people and be moved to action. I want people to walk away from this exhibit thinking differently about hunger than they ever have before. These are our neighbors, and it starts with us. We have to start paying attention to each other,” Nye said.

The Eastern Shore Art Center is at 401 Oak St. in Fairhope. For more information, call 251-928-2228 or visit www.esartcenter.com.