In Adrienne Raquel’s latest book, ONYX [published by Damiani], readers are immersed within the sweat-soaked, neon-lit world of a Texas strip club. After being commissioned by Fotografiska Latest York, the photographer began documenting performers at Houston’s famed Club Onyx – an area where dancers are encouraged to hone their very own creative style, and empowered to barter whatever “stripping” personally means to them. 

Texas-born Raquel is primarily known for her editorial work, having created glossy, dream-like portraits of artists like Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Nas X and Travis Scott. This latest project – although a thematic switch-up – retains many features of her signature style. Like her portraits, the emphasis is placed on the tensions between intimacy and illusion. The dancers are captured onstage, mid-movement, looking otherworldly under the dim, polychromatic lighting of the club. But we’re also invited behind the scenes, with Raquel photographing the artists in the protection and privacy of the locker room. The goal of the project, in accordance with the press release, is to display the “empowerment and inclusivity in strip clubs that society tends to disregard”.

Here, Raquel shares the total story behind the project, detailing how she discovered the club, her inspirations, and the way she step by step learned to construct the dancers’ trust.

“I visited Onyx back in 2017 with my family, just very randomly. My aunt had a fiftieth birthday here in Houston and one in every of the places that we went together, along with her friends and my mum, was club Onyx. I remember sitting there and just watching the ladies… how sensual and assured they were; how they took charge of the audience. From that moment, I at all times told myself, ‘Once I make it in my profession, I would like to come back back and document the club.’

“One thing with my work is that I try to focus on women and femininity; to essentially capture beauty without it being objectified; without it being overly sexy. And I feel with Onyx, that’s exactly what I desired to do. I desired to go there and visually tell the stories of the women and portray a way of fantasy, but in addition portray their power – the artistry of exotic dancing. I also wanted to focus on the experience in a way that we don’t commonly see. People have such negative perceptions of strip clubs, overall, and this project’s premise was to skew those perceptions. 

“I might think that they were dancing for the boys, or the shoppers of the club. But once I really frolicked there, I realised they were dancing for themselves, looking within the mirror the entire time” – Adrienne Raquel

“I’m super introverted and really shy, [but] this strip club will not be a quiet place. Before I actually began shooting this project, I went to Onyx and the manager gave me a tour of the club and showed me the various areas. He was like, ‘But so as to shoot the dancers, you’re going to must get permission from the home mum’. So I remember walking as much as her and she or he literally looked me up and down. I told her what I used to be there to do and I had this little printed-out treatment, this little deck that I had put together. She just checked out me and said, ‘Are you mostly this nice?’ In order that was how I got my foot within the door. After which for the remainder of the night, I frolicked within the booth with the DJ who would call the women over and introduce me. 

“I actually spent a number of time attending to know the dancers. One thing about photography I’ve learned is that taking photo is about trust. In case you’re given a selected moment in time to photograph someone – whether that’s for five minutes or 10 hours – not everyone seems to be comfortable in front of the camera, so at that moment in time that you’ve got to make them feel seen, you’ve got to make them feel welcome. With this series, it was imperative for me to essentially dive deeper into the conversations with the ladies on the club because I wanted to construct that rapport.

“People tell me that my work is sexy. I describe it as glossy. I take advantage of vivid colors, which lend themselves to this kind of fantasy world. Nevertheless it’s exhausting being in a club every night. I wasn’t even dancing or anything, but energetically, it was tiring. The dancers control the vibe of the club and unexpectedly my energy would pick up on the energy of the space. Possibly among the dancers could be upset because they weren’t making enough money or they’re [tired]. I actually have very empathic tendencies and that was a challenge sometimes. Some days, you possibly can tell [the dancers] desired to be there. After which other days, you may see they’re just not feeling it, or their bodies hurt, you may see it of their eyes. The photos look glamorous, nevertheless it’s not at all times as glamorous because it’s portrayed.

“It was just so intriguing to observe how they work the space and the way they get what they need, though. I mean, these women are like queens, they know what they’re doing. They’re legends in their very own right, and now they’re sort of immortalised on this book.”

ONYX by Adrienne Raquel is published by Damiani and is available now.

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