The history of sex work can be traced from well before ancient times to the present day. The prevailing image of humanity, the values ​​that held sway, and who wielded power can all be seen in how society dealt with sex work. In some eras, it represented one of the few ways for women to generate an independent income. Its history has mostly been told from an external perspective. The exhibition SEX WORK tells this story differently: Together with a collective of sex workers engaged in research, the Bundeskunsthalle presents art, cultural history, and archival material, guided by a central principle: Nothing about us without us!

The exhibition sheds light on art and cultural history as well as contemporary socio-political issues. In the visual arts, hetaerae, prostitutes, courtesans, and nude dancers long played primarily a motif role, at best perceived as muses. The exhibition highlights the creative and artistic role that sex workers also play. To tell a cultural history of sex work means entering a territory permeated by moralizing and highly political discourses. Media and popular culture all too readily resort to one-dimensional stereotypes when portraying sex workers. Public debate oscillates between moral condemnation and positions that categorically classify all forms of sex work as exploitation. The terms used in the context of sex work have always reflected social conditions, power structures, and gender orders. While historical terms like “whore” or “prostitute” primarily marked a moral stigma, the term “sex work” focuses on the aspect of gainful employment and detaches it from a fixed identity. Created in collaboration with sex workers, the exhibition offers historical and contemporary insights into sex work as well as perspectives on labor and human rights.

Midori will be showing her large scale instillation “InVocation”. This work is a vertical monument to the labor and lives of the workers.

Originally commissioned by the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art & Alexis Heller in 2018.