With no plans for her future and no reason to go back home, she decided to stay in France. While working as an au pair, Atwood realised she was deeply unhappy and found an English-speaking therapist who helped her unlock a wellspring of creativity inside of her, which had previously been blocked.
One evening, while attending Tuesday night gallery openings, Atwood met a woman who told her that she knew a prostitute. In , they were allowed to stand in the street and solicit. That same evening, the woman took Atwood to 19 Rue des Lombards, a brothel located in the centre of Paris, and they ended up drinking champagne with a group of sex workers.
She is so timid. When she left that night, Atwood knew she wanted to take photographs of these women. Blondine accepted the offer and invited Atwood to visit her on the job, working the streets from eight in the evening until dawn.
Over the course of a year, Atwood made her very first series of work, Rue des Lombards β , selections of which are now on show in Paris Red Light β alongside photographs of trans prostitutes from Pigalle People β I have never seen anyone so close to women as you are now. You have an in, so you should try to [go inside the rooms with the clients]. Just 24 when she made these works, Atwood considers them among her very best.
Dazed media sites. I would like to receive the AnOther newsletter.
