• Vol. 04
  • Chapter 04

The contortionist

She's upside down because some twisted photographer hired the contortionist for a photo. There's the aesthetic he's loved, that has prevailed for centuries - the female in full submission, on her back, on her side, kneeling, ready to give herself to her lover no matter the circumstance. It still prevails today, otherwise why hire this woman in such a nonsensical pose? arms down, shoes off, torso on the ground, defying physics. How twisted. Truly. Ever since the photographer's lover died tragically in the middle of an orgasm, asphyxiated by her own scarf, the photographer has travelled around the country in search of pieces of his lover. In the countryside, he hires young girls to expose parts of themselves for his photos - capturing a young missus before her body matures and she loses that innocence. In the city, he hires sex workers, young and old, to pose for him, their arms against the wall, torso backwards, eyes staring directly at the camera or eyes closed, head down, neck bent. The one thing he doesn't do is consummate his desires with these women - that he donates through his art, generous philanthropist he is - for his audience to ravish these bodies fully in their own sick fantasies. For the photographer gets an erection out of seeing his work distributed in galleries worldwide, thinking of all the power he has over these men and women who are his audience, who celebrate his sexual prowess in dominating these subjects without direct domination - all through the lens of his gifted camera.