Britain’s secretive sex industry laid bare in this extraordinary series of racy photographs of escorts, strippers and porn stars
These pictures were taken for London-based photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten's new project The Act
THE secretive lives of sex workers are normally hidden from the public eye.
But one photographer has shed light on the lives of women who voluntarily work in the sector - including a stripper, porn star, escort and dominatrix.
These racy images are the work of London-based photographer Julia Fullerton-Batten, for her new project The Act.
As the name suggests, each of the pictures show the women at work - be that a burlesque dancer in her fancy outfit, or an escort advertising her services in a window.
Julia conducted a year of castings for the pictures, and eventually whittled the women down to a group of 15 - including a ping pong girl, aerial artist, lap dancer and webcam star.
Each image shows a woman posing on a realistic and specially-designed stage set, from an escort's bedroom to a ping pong table.
While in one image, a dominatrix waits on a metal cage.
Julia told The Mirror: "I have long been curious as to why some women wittingly and willingly forsake 'normality' and voluntarily opt to enter the sex industry, even knowing that in doing so they risk social stigma and the disapproval of their families."
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The pictures from The Act have been compiled in a large, pink book - which includes interviews with some of the female sex workers.
Julia said working with the ladies helped change her mind about the sex industry - and the stigma around it.
She added: “They were all positive, happy and content, almost care-free about what they were doing. I began to understand and respect to some degree the reasoning behind their career choice.”