On Dreams and Screens

"On Dreams and Screens" investigates how intimate and real one can be on a web camera and what emotional patterns are likely to be formed after hours spent in the online fantasy world. Online webcam models turn out to be experts in the field of screen-based human contact  – their livelihood depends on it.

I photographed them in moments of self-contemplation, in the places of their childhood, favorite locations outside or at home. Most of them consider themselves non or semi-professional, “girl next door” types. They are based in Ukraine. Although cam girls live in a shared web environment, Eastern Europe is the world’s major hub of webcam models.
Working in the adult camming industry can be traumatizing and mentally challenging, yet I find it crucial to portray different flip sides. Some of the online sex workers’ stories on ”On Dreams and Screens” turn out to be about self-empowerment and personal transformation.
First and foremost, working with web cameras and online chats help girls achieve economical stability, which often is a key to self-empowerment, especially in a country as unstable and patriarchal as Ukraine. 
For most of my heroines, camming became a tool to help them explore their own body, sexuality, and even psyche. Fully based on the achievements of modern technology, this profession also offers females new ways to learn about other people and interpersonal relationships. Webcamming additionally provides the highest level of physical safety among all types of sex work: performers may exit the interaction with a client at any given moment.