BREAK (2022-2023)

While in lockdown I was perusing the web for my own prurient interests, like a digital window shopper, I came across a webcam site where men work for tips. This website is primarily targeted at men seeking men. In this website, viewers can navigate through a variety of spaces and bodies to satisfy their need for human connection, albeit virtual. The number of rooms, or environments, allows for a multitude of fantasies and desires to be performed on screen. This website differs from many other forms of sex work because it is digital, and the physical body of the sex worker is separated from the user.  

My work, Break, includes screen shots from this website. These images present the “stage” while the performer is on break, thus revealing the architecture of the environment they created or chose to display while they merchandize their bodies.  Also evident in these images are the buttons which activate payment and advertise free minutes for the user. However, the absence of a performer does not mean the room is empty. These rooms function as the setting of a carnal act, like a stage set represents aspects of the story being told. The rooms are designed with all sorts of objects meant to elicit an erotic response. From stuffed avocados to whips and leather boots, these items set a backdrop for the staging of desire.