RED LIGHT DARK ROOM

Photographer Gemma-Rose Turnbull tells us more about her fascinating project charting the lives of street sex workers from St Kilda, Melbourne.

How did the Red Light Dark Room project come about? In 2009 I spent two days at St Kilda Gatehouse, which is a non-profit organisation that works with street based sex workers. I was so profoundly moved by the respect they treated the women who walked through the door with that I conceived of this project to raise money for them, and to provide a way for a very marginalised group to tell their stories. St Kilda Gatehouse is solely donor funded, and provide the most amazing service on a tiny budget. I was so moved by them that I moved to Melbourne from Brisbane to run this project, which was sponsored by the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Helen MacPherson Smith Trust.

What was your process in collecting the stories and images of the women? I gave the women their own cameras, and worked with them individually to tell their stories visually. I also interviewed them about their paths into street based sex work, and the conditions of working from the street. I also photographed them, but tried to let them dictate when and where they were comfortable with me photographing, to give them more chance to tell their own story. I focused on filling the obvious gaps in their visual narratives. As I ran the project I began to write about the lives I was observing, and those observations also became an important part of the book.

You also taught them how to take photos … The book is comprised of half of their photographs, and half of mine. They took some amazing images, all of them really developing their own unique visual language. Some took lots of self portraits, others lots of photographs of their children, and their domestic spaces, and others photographed their lives on the street.

What has the reaction been like to the project? As I have worked with a transient group not all of them still access the services of St Kilda Gatehouse, but those that do have been really happy with the outcome of the project. It is always an intimidating thing to be in the public eye, particularly as the face of such a marginalised group, but the feedback I have had is very positive. One woman used the book to tell her mother her story of being a sex worker, and found it a really transformative experience.

What are some of the stories or photos that stand out to you? My favourite photographs are the images of quiet domesticity. I think those represent the most interesting side to the project – getting to know women who are seen as one dimensional, as more than short skirts and high heels on the corner. Seeing them as mothers, pet owners, partners and women.

And what comes next? We are aiming to sell 2000 copies of the book to raise money to support the valuable work St Kilda Gatehouse does with helping to support street based sex workers, whether they are continuing to work, or wishing to transition out of street sex work. All of the proceeds of the book sales goes to them. We are almost one quarter of the way there, which is exciting, but with a long way to go the work will be touring Australia for at least the next year.
May 16-29, Global Gallery, 5 Comber St, Paddington, redlightdarkroom.com