Sightlines: Public and Private (Lives)

Julie Cook’s photographic work evidences a fascination for representations of the body, sexuality, voyeurism and the places and spaces of the exotic dance industry in London and Las Vegas. Sightlines: Public and Private (Lives) takes us on a slick exotic historical journey, divided into several chapters - from Las Vegas Diaries, to the improvised character of ‘Olympia Moments Ltd’, a chain of alternative strip venues run by the dancers themselves in the back rooms and basements of London pubs. Cook is intrigued as much by the dancers’ ‘ordinary’ bodies as she is by the sensual persona they create by ‘dressing up’. Another interest is the highly specialised and unusual architecture of strip clubs and the levels of influence and control that these environments assert.

Curated by Matthew Shaul.