THE SEXXX PROJECT
My most recent project has been about the adult film industry - in particular, I've been focusing on fetish models, so what I'm planning to produce is a collection of paintings, poetry and extracts from the interview I've already done and the future interviews I hope to conduct.
What interested me about alternative sexual lifestyles, from books and essays I've read on the subject, is that when done responsibly, everything is negotiated beforehand and if necessary all you need to do is say the Safe Word. From my research, I've come to the opinion that there is something almost therapeutic about it, and I think that as well as creating a unique project, I'll be able to talk to some interesting people.
I'm looking forward to seeing how my work develops, as it's very different from any art project I've embarked on before. It's difficult to conduct a project when you are mostly reliant on the willingness and cooperation of strangers, particularly in a community so shrouded in secrecy. Naturally, the first people I contacted were those who's work I particularly admired. I got a mix of responses from the people I emailed, some people didn't respond at all, a couple of people seemed enthusiastic but turned out to be flakes or fruit loops.
Only one person was directly hostile to me - the screenshots below show our exchange:
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I chose not to dignify this with a response. Instead I felt more determined than ever that I was going to make this project happen (dammit!).
Grimly determined to soldier on in my quest to do my project, despite adversity, I contacted another fetish model Lexi. who turned out to be incredibly lovely, and interested in what I was trying to do. She agreed to let me interview her and chatted with me for over three hours, answering all my questions and telling me some fascinating stories about her career and her life.
While my project is still ongoing, interacting with Lexi, restored my faith that there are people out there who are open and kind - even to people they've never met.
Thank you, Lexi!
A QUESTION A DAY:
This is a project that I'm doing in collaboration with Ines in Year 2. The concept is simple. we have a joint Tumblr account where each day we post questions to each other. We have committed to do this for one month and at the end we will each read the answers the other has written.
This project intrigued me from the beginning, as a naturally curious person, the opportunity to read the questions that someone else had about life and to share my own, intrigued me. I hadn't spoken to Ines much before, apart from casual 'hi's' and 'bye's', but through doing this collaboration I've discovered that many of the topics that I wonder about, fascinate her too. In some ways writing my daily questions feels like keeping a diary - but in this case it's an interactive one, in which Ines is my diary to which I confide my thoughts, and I'm her's also.
As of yet, I'm not sure what the end outcome of the project will be, I think that through the course of our daily questions and answers the conclusion will write itself.
