Artist statement

Gentlemen's Club, Live Adult Entertainment, Exotic Dancing Bar, Strip Club – whatever they are called, these are places where usually men are the audience and women are the performers. They are part of today's culture in America, everywhere and around places where we least expect to come across them. Almost invisible to the commuter, their exterior architecture is kitschy and distasteful enough to make you stare and wonder what business is inside – which raises questions about their function and their place in contemporary society. It is a billion-dollar industry.

To show the real “glow” of the exotic bars, the images are photographed during the day, when they look very ordinary and part of our daily life. This is the part of the day when the curtain between reality and illusion is pulled back and all the illusions about the world inside are destroyed. The photographs are a visual observation of the outside architecture that makes social commentary on this kind of adult entertainment business: the realistic outside look of these places, with the labels that create the illusion of a great sexual experience inside.

The titles of these places – Forbidden Fruit, Gossip, Bombshell, Lucky's, The Scene, The Great Alaskan Bush Co. – are the most interesting part of this social documentary. All have a double meaning and the suggestion of sexual pleasure associated with the male fantasy. They capture the imaginary character of the places, created to attract visitors like a “trap” into the dreamy world inside – the scenario of the play, the bite from the forbidden fruit. Through this advertising, these places sell fantasy to men who want to escape the reality of everyday life. However, the independent contractor is looking for her prey as well. They both hunt each other in this dramatic performance in which one has been seduced by the other.

“Strip clubs are designed for one reason and one reason only: to separate men from their money. They do this by selling a fantasy.” — guyspeak.com

Theaters of Prey