Not a prostitute, but a sex worker: Julia Fullerton-Batten's provocative photo project

Hardly any other field of activity is more scandalous than the sex industry. And it is unlikely that society condemns, stigmatizes and puts so many labels on employees of any other industry to the extent that it is done with sex workers. These thoughts formed the basis of another project by London photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten, whose lens turned out to be women using their bodies to make money. The author tried to understand what motivates a person who voluntarily chose to work in the sex industry.

The album, called The Act, consists of pictures of escort service workers, porn actresses, strippers, webcam models, "sex slaves", dominatrix, burlesque dancers, aerialists performing nude, and even ping pong girls. Each of them tried to portray how there is an element of performance in their work.

(15 photos in total)

Source: L'oeil de la Photographie

Bentley and Jade, porn actresses.

"The main driving force that inspired me to create The Act was curiosity. I was curious about what motivates women, some with a good education and a university degree, to abandon ordinary life and voluntarily join the sex industry, risking becoming outcasts of society and causing displeasure of their relatives and friends," the photographer says.

Katie Keen, stripper.

Earlier, Julia Fullerton-Batten created a photo project about mothers and daughters, as well as bodies far from the standards of beauty, and initially planned to make 30 pictures for the new album. But she got so carried away with her heroines that she expanded the original idea and included a video interview in it to reveal the topic of motives for coming to the sex industry and give the girls the opportunity to speak for themselves.

Chessie Kay, porn actress.

Despite the "adult" professions and the naked bodies of her heroines, the photographer tried not to slip into pornography. "The topic in question is scandalous. Obviously, the images were supposed to be erotic. Eroticism is a subtle, sensitive and individual thing. Each viewer has their own idea of what is permissible and what is not. I can't influence it. I decided to take erotic photos and thought that if I focus on femininity, I can avoid pornographic scenes," says Julia Fullerton—Batten.

Eliza De Light, burlesque dancer.

In all but two of the footage, the heroines are alone. Their bodies are naked, but no more than the performance of official duties requires.

Ella and Chloe, slaves.

In order to find women who are ready to pose, but at the same time not to stumble upon sex workers who turned to this field of activity forcibly, the photographer turned to the agency for help. "When selecting models by the agency, two criteria were important. The girls had to volunteer to work in the sex industry, and I had to have a diverse set of sex workers, including girls who are not physically involved in sexual acts."

Jay Rose, webcam model.

Fullerton-Batten understood perfectly well that she was taking a position of strength and it was she, as a person on the other side of the lens, who decides how she will eventually portray her heroines. "During the shooting, I was a spectator with a camera watching the actresses who performed their act in front of me, and I observed behavior that I had never seen before. Strangely, I began to feel a desire to protect them and could feel their situation better," says the photographer.

Lola Marie, escort.

"I even began to understand to some extent the reasons behind their career choice. They were very positive, joyful and satisfied, almost carefree about what they were doing. Now I respect them as individuals even more than before the shooting, and not only because they are sex workers. They changed my worldview, and I want to think that in a positive way. I wish them all the best, without exception. I'm still in touch with some of them."

Maisie Taylor, aerialist.

The search for the heroines took several months, but the shooting took place quickly and intensively. "We adjusted the lighting and mounted a platform for shooting the next girl, shooting the previous one," says the photographer. The result was not only the most exhausting, but also one of the most interesting, ambitious and productive photo projects in her career.

Monique, the stripper.

"Even though I had a team of 20 people, it always seemed to us that there were not enough people to work with. Sometimes we worked from six in the morning until two in the morning. I have the best memories of the team that valiantly assisted me during these long days. The girls also worked great, although the work was often delayed, but I understand that many of them are used to it."

Morrigan Hel, dominatrix.

Julia adds that the sight of these girls performing in front of her will stay with her forever. "Before the shooting, I only met and talked with them, but I didn't see them in the image or during the performance until the very day of the shooting. It was wonderful to see them in action, especially Sasha Flexi on a pole, how Monique dances a lap dance, how Veronica hangs on her hair, and Mouse plays table tennis."

Mouse, the girl in ping pong.

Munro, a transsexual.

Sasha Flexi, pole dancer.

Shandate, escort.

Veronica, an aerial acrobat.