Vincent Wechselberger’s debut photo book Ready is part of a wider ongoing project encompassing portraits, still lifes, film, interviews with LGBTQ+ sex workers. The series was borne from an increasing sense of “dissonance” the Berlin-based photographer felt between his own experience as a queer sex worker and the way queer sex work is so often depicted. “I always felt there weren’t enough stories being told about femme/queer sex workers who choose to do this work”, Wechselberger told Dazed in a recent conversation over email. “I wanted to show a more truthful, pure insider’s point of view.”
Having spent eight years in sex work, the guiding principle of Wechselberger’s project is to contribute positively to the conversation about sex work. As a practice, his work is also driven by his desire to engage with other queer sex workers and explore his relationship to this world, as well as tracing connections between their extended network in Berlin and beyond. The particular image from which the whole series sprang was a portrait Wechselberger took of his friend, Oskar, in 2022. “We shot in his home and in a typical Berlin hinterhof,” he recalls. “I had so much fun gossiping about work, listening to music, shooting and interviewing him and I felt so fulfilled. After that, I knew I needed to continue and research this further.”
From that point, the project gathered momentum, expanding beyond the confines of Berlin. Taking between 2022 to 2024, the scope of Wechselberger’s series enlarged to include sex workers from Bangkok, London, Mexico City, New York and Vienna. During his travels, what really struck him was the commonality he found among the sex workers he met. He tells us, “Even though there are divides in cultural, economic and legal contexts, we shared common stories and I really wanted to celebrate this diverse group… Meeting people from all around the world, sharing common stories and challenges, chatting about different encounters – it’s all about trust and community building.”
He chose many of these cities because sex work is still illegal but “in such high demand”. In this sense, the law has made outliers of his subjects; the worlds he’s documenting are illicit, forced to exist in the margins. “In many countries, sex workers face inhumane laws that violate our dignity and rights. I want to change the way we think about sex work and the people who choose to do it. It was important for me to portray us in a strong and empowering way, to show our personal agency. By highlighting the uniqueness and our autonomy, my hope is to reduce stigma, making our experiences safer.”
Rather than focusing gratuitously on the “charged moment“ of the sexual encounter, Wechselberger instead turned his lens on the preparatory rituals and artefacts involved in getting ready for work – an aspect of the job he feels anyone could relate to. “It’s about showering, doing hair, make-up, listening to music, praying. Simply put, the act of getting ready,” he says. “The literal act of sex is such a small part of the job. It didn’t excite me to portray the clients or sex. The people who do this job, their routines and stories are what I am interested in. By capturing raw, intimate moments, the contents of their (hand)bags and work spaces, I try to show the humanity of the individuals and focus on something which everyone can see themselves in.”
His new photo book brings together portraits from the last two years. There’s a cinematic quality to the images, they often feel more theatrical than straightforward documentary photography while retaining the honesty of reportage. The pictures feel intimate, we’re invited to collude with the subjects; to see them in private and look at their personal effects. Wechselberger shot some of the pictures in people’s homes as they got ready for work. In other instances he booked hotels. He tells us, “We met there, hung out, chit-chatted about work, clients, and took photos.”
Perhaps what creates this feeling of intense intimacy is that they’re shot by a trusted insider rather than a prurient documentarian. “Given the nature and goal of the project I feel comfortable to share my story as well,” Wechselberger confides. “When I turned 18, I started doing sex work. I moved to Berlin and got into a whole new world of meeting clients and going on dates. Through sex work, I found a different kind of freedom and let go of society’s expectations of how I should live my life.” And, of all the important, poignant and striking narratives that emerge from this body of work, perhaps this sentiment is the overarching meaning we can take away from the pages of Ready. In Wechselberger’s words, it’s a story about “self-determination and having control over your own body”.
Vincent Wechselberger’s debut photo book Ready by is available here now. The book’s Berlin launch takes place on July 3 at Backhaus Projects, Weserstrasse 168. The Vienna launch takes place on July 6 at Softcover Shop, Stumpergasse 53-55.
