Erika Long discusses her serene and tonal photo book lensing the celebratory side of sex work
The world of sex work has been under a scrupulous lens for some time now, forming the subject matter of many practicing artists and photographers today. This includes Erika Long, a photographer originally from Athens and currently based in New York, who has recently launched a book that jolts all preconceived ideas of the adult industry – that which is often portrayed in the media. Titled Sxwrker and published by Catalogue Library, the visual tome is just as much a serene and warming depiction of the photographic medium as it is a powerfully enriching narrative: it’s a celebration.
“Sex work is an incredibly important part of making society continue to operate on a functional level,” Erika tells me of the reasoning behind the project. “We live in a culture where kinks and fetishes are unable to be explored openly by a lot of people, whether it’s due to religion, stigmatisation or what have you, and people’s needs don’t just magically disappear. Sex work is the world’s oldest profession for a reason – they’re like underground therapists, yet we ostracise them and imprison them for it.”
Throughout the pages of Sxwrker, Erika employs a half-candid, half-staged style of photography, zooming in on the twists and curves of her subjects’ bodies which, in turn, reveals an abstracted view of reality. The postures are arched, boot-sucking and confident, but the symbolism goes far deeper than a tonal and somewhat sexy aesthetic; Erika’s pictures have a purpose and, through her intimate image-making, she unravels (almost effortlessly) the personal narratives of her subjects. “Their stories are their own and not mine to share,” she notes, “but what I wanted to accomplish was just to open a dialogue and do what I can to get people with critical opinions on sex work to lighten up.”
In one image, a mask shields the face of one of her subjects, posing topless in front of the camera with a soft yet stark backdrop framing the silhouette; in another, a leg crosses over the other in diamond fishnet tights, positioned sculpturally with the rest of the body hidden from view. Besides the more shapely and abstract, there are also a selection of traditional portraits – like the hazy and sepia-infused shot of someone smiling directly into the lens. It shows a different side to the performative nature of the industry.
“I’m so sick of seeing sex workers being photographed in a dim lit corner of some motel at a highway rest stop,” she continues to explain. “I’m not saying that’s not a reality for some sex workers, but it’s not the reality of all sex workers. All the sex workers I’ve met are proud of their work and love what they do, and I wanted that to come across in the images.” While working on the project, Erika admits that it’s the most fun she’s ever had while working on set, and this inadvertently shines through the work. “Everyone in the book, down to the forward, is a sex worker in some way. Some are active, some are former – some are dominatrixes, some are strippers and some are escorts. Some are friends! I have a few fiends who are sex workers and when I mentioned wanting to start this project they were integral in making it happen.”
Now that Sxwrker has been released into the world, Erika hopes that this will trigger something in an audience that she wouldn’t usually reach – like someone’s aunty, second cousin or colleague. Striving to change the way that sex work is viewed in society, and the world, Sxwrker is part of a necessary conversation and one firmly roots itself in the art-cum-activist photography canon.
Photography courtesy of Erika Long
