SOME LAS VEGAS STRIP CLUBS : Julie Cook

SOME LAS VEGAS STRIP CLUBS
A series of strip club exteriors and interiors (2003-8), which reveal how the signifiers of erotic performance structure the landscape of the road, where distance from the centre allows for the growth of the sex industry. The images are part of a series, published as a book of the same name, featuring both strip club interiors and exteriors which is influenced by, and references, the photographic work of Ed Ruscha. The work documents specifics of urban geography as structured by the legal constraints imposed by the sex industry. The design of both the exteriors and interiors of these spaces are also shown to reinforce cultural myths and stereotypes, which inform sexual fantasy. Physically experiencing these spaces can be very complex and is shown to involve a series of decisions - real or imagined ‘stepping stones’ through which culturally and historically determined markers of gender division are negotiated.

The Library, 2003