Cristina de Middel Lune, 56 years old. Married. Tailor. Lune was 16 years old when he first paid for prostitutes in his hometown. He went to the brothel by himself but following the advice of a friend who told him he had to try it. That night he payed 3 USD. He then started going at least 10 times a month but stopped when he got married. The last time he payed 9 USD and said he didn’t stop going because of his wife but rather because of his fear of contracting an STD. Bangkok. Thailand. 2018. © Cristina de Middel | Magnum Photos
Cristina de Middel’s intimate portraits of men in low-lit rooms slowly draw us into a desire that drives them into the arms of prostitutes. It is here, in these dark corners hidden away from it all that men of all walks of life find themselves inextricably drawn to a fleeting encounter with a local sex worker.
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For de Middel, the photographic reportage of prostitution had been reduced to a series of visual clichés revolving around women, sex, and capitalism. For all of the stories told time and again, the identity and lives of the clients was all but invisible. The Spanish-Belgian photographer, who now lives between Brazil and Mexico, has always enjoyed subverting the paradigms of the status quo to provide new sources of insight and understanding.
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The ongoing project, Gentlemen’s Club, began in Rio de Janeiro with a simple advert placed two in free newspapers, Extra and O Dia. de Middel offered to pay clients for an hour of their time, during which she would photograph and interview them in a local hotel room. The response was overwhelming. With more than 100 people responding willing to participate, de Middel recognized a much larger story unfolding before her eyes.
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Cristina de Middel Bangkok. Thailand. 2018. © Cristina de Middel | Magnum Photos