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WARNING: This fictional work involves topics of depression, sex work, and death. Discretion is advised.
Note to my story readers: Chrissy is okay (for now). Ephemera is non-canon. Think of it like a “Treehouse of Horror” episode on The Simpsons.
In this post:
Background
The rise of websites and apps that digitally connect sex workers with their clients can create the impression that sex work is glamorous or safe. However, the reality is often far more uncertain for sex workers who meet clients in person.
Many people enter sex work because of economic precarity, limited employment opportunities, or survival needs. Public-health research has long linked sex work with structural vulnerabilities such as poverty, social marginalization, and exposure to violence.
Sex work is also highly gendered. Roughly 80 percent of sex workers worldwide are women, leaving male sex workers as a significant but often overlooked minority. Research on male sex workers remains limited, and their experiences are frequently absent from policy discussions and public debates.
Sex workers face elevated risks of violence and serious health challenges. In global HIV research, sex workers are considered a key population because they experience higher rates of HIV infection and reduced access to healthcare in many regions. However, according to research in Australia, rates of HIV/STIs among male sex workers who have sex with men are similar to those of male non-sex workers who have sex with men.
Through Ephemera, I want to highlight the risks that accompany sex work and the fragility of life itself. The French phrase la petite mort, often used to describe orgasm as a “little death,” becomes literal here.
“Ephemera” came from a line I wrote for the first episode of season 3, “A Room of One’s Own.” Dollsexposed’s main character, Chrissy, who’s a sex worker, realizes that “Sex work is ephemeral. Hell, life is ephemeral.”
Description
Ephemera is a staged doll-photography series presented as a three-part narrative. The work explores intimacy, both transactional and emotional, within the transient spaces of sex work, juxtaposing human connection with the inevitability of mortality.
Ephemera I: First Impression
In a motel room, a sex worker encounters a silent client whose presence feels both familiar and inevitable.
Ephemera II: Afterglow
In the quiet aftermath of the encounter, realization begins to surface. The figure confronts memory and the fleeting nature of life within a space typically associated with transactional intimacy.
Ephemera III: The Embrace
The final image shifts from realization to acceptance. Death is presented not as a violent force but as a quiet and intimate companion, framing mortality as a universal passage rather than a rupture.
When viewed in conjunction with the ongoing Chrissy’s story on Dollsexposed, Ephemera deals not only with the nature of sex work but also the mental state of a character who seems to have lost everything. However, as mentioned before, Ephemera is non-canon.
The images were shot with a Nikon D750, an 85mm/1.4f Sigma lens, and three speedlights and gel. The images were processed in Adobe Bridge and cleaned up in Photoshop.
For exhibition, they’re printed on archival paper.
Documentation
When one of my works was selected to be shown at the juried Seattle Erotic Art Festival (2024), a judge came up to me and said they thought the image was generated by a prompt. It wasn’t until they looked up my website and realized it was sixth-scale (twelve-inch/Barbie-sized) dolls.
This is why I decided to document (part of the) process of creating Ephemera, to show how I made the props and the diorama. “Part of” because I’m still not used to stopping to document my work, but in the era of prompt-generated images and videos, it’s important to show my work.
The blade for the scythe was made from a stack of cardstock from Bauducco’s pannetone packaging. It was coated with black nail polish, spray-painted metallic silver, and dry-brushed with black and brown acrylic paints. Silver acrylic paint was then applied on top. The handle was from a bush in my apartment complex, painted dark brown.
I was lucky enough to get the skeleton by COO Model for a fraction of the usual price. It does have issues, namely being shorter than Chrissy. Chrissy is on the short side when it comes to sixth-scale figures (he’s only about 11.5″) and the COO Model skeleton is 11″. In real life, skeletons are smaller (it doesn’t have flesh and muscles) but I want The Reaper to look imposing.
Another issue is the joins. Although the figure is articulated, The range of motion is extremely limited and the joints can’t hold the pose.
I made the cloak using a black metallic spandex fabric, with the metallic side on the inside. Unfortunately, the effect isn’t visible in the photos. The cloak is long enough to hide the platforms I use to prop up the skeleton, so it appears taller in the first and third Ephemera.
The table lamp’s base is from an empty nail polish bottle. At first, I spray-painted it white, but I didn’t like the way it turned out, so I applied royal blue paint, and when it was still wet, I added a gold layer for a brass/patinaed look.
I used this free pattern generator for the lamp shade, printed it on a beige paper, and used a gold pen for the top and bottom trims. I used a mini light for the inside (and later adjusted my shutter speed to capture the ambient light).
I’m particularly proud of the phone. I couldn’t find a modern landline phone in Barbie scale, so I made a pattern in Adobe Illustrator and used cardboard and wire wrapped in cord, and painted it off-white with acrylic paint.
I also needed a bedside table that looks practical for the motel and made it using a cardstock from packaging, contact paper, and wide-gauge wire for the handle (painted in black nail polish). The drawer doesn’t open.
The tissue box pattern was made in Illustrator and was the easiest and least time-consuming craft.
Finding the fabric for the (stereo)typical cheap, roadside motel bedspread wasn’t easy because not only does the fabric need to have a print small enough to work in sixth scale, it also needs to look dated. I found the perfect one on Etsy.
I swear, I think I’ve slept in motels with this exact same bedspread.
To make it believable, I quilt-stitched it onto a felt before adding a layer of white cotton. I then added wire on the edges, so the bedspread can be posed (although I ended up laying it down with flat-top sewing pins).
The mattress and bedframe are the same ones that are used in Wade’s room diorama. Wade is Chrissy’s ex, and the irony didn’t escape me.
The headboard was made with cardboard and popsicle sticks. The photo above the bed was taken when I went to Joshua Tree with my ex in 2016 and framed with toothpicks.
Microsuede in moss green was used for the carpet.
The walls were covered with linen-textured beige contact paper. The door (unopenable) and doorframe were made with cardboard and covered with woodgrain print that I printed at FedEx (where I also printed the Joshua Tree photo).
Bonus: “Crime Scene” photos:
Stockist index:
The Grim Reaper: cloak, scythe by Dollsexposed.
Chrissy: shoes by Zuru Mini Brand x Skechers; gold crystal bracelet by Integrity Toys; cropped top, short shorts, star necklace, gold spike bracelet, rainbow beaded bracelet, socks, lips bag, cellphone, hair tie by Dollsexposed; lightning stud earring by Nordstrom Rack; glasses model’s own.
Handcuffs by Hot Toys. All other props by Dollsexposed.
Diorama by Dollsexposed.
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Dollsexposed showcases homoerotica, kink, and storytelling through twelve-inch doll photography. Their adventures in the doll world began in 2011 before establishing a home on dollsexposed.com eleven years later.
Dollsexposed's works have been displayed at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, Los Angeles Kinky Art Show, and Los Angeles Leather Getaway.
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