Julie Cook— Olympia Moments Ltd

26 March 2015  - 24 May 2015

Julie Cook – like Paul Davies her collaborator and co-conspirator in this Departure Lounge show – is possessed of a unique insight to the personalities, places and spaces of erotica and the exotic dancing industry. While both Davies and Cook are at some level interested in concepts of sexuality and voyeurism, Cook’s work is better characterised by the ‘make do and mend’ characteristics of exotic dancing in London pubs. These are spaces that were never designed for performance and which have been–somewhat haphazardly–adapted to this purpose.

Cook’s photographic series celebrates the cheerful organised chaos that attend both the performances themselves and the preparations for them, as dancers get changed in backrooms and kitchens. Olympia Moments Ltd is collective of exotic dancers run by and for the dancers themselves, and, whilst exotic dancing represents commercial voyeurism, the dancers are manifestly in control of their own destinies.

Julie Cook has been a participant, a collaborator and observer of this remarkable London milieu since 1998.

Location:
Departure Lounge
61 George Street
Luton
LU1 2AL