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Speech from the Throne

2008 
6 X 6 feet

Sex and politics have a long history together. They certainly make strange bedfellows. And you can forget about a “happy ending”.

Porn and politics have a lot in common. Both involve groups of people making a lot of noise and pretending to be sincere. Both are scripted (often poorly). Both often involve fetish wear, be it leather harnesses or velvet ermine-trimmed robes. Both involve a lot of pounding and slapping. And quite often at the end of a session no one feels particularly satisfied, least of all the viewer.

While watching the 2007 Speech From the Throne I was inspired to pull out my digital camera and began photographing the tv screen, enlisting my own “member of parliament” as interviewer. I then combined these photos with stills taken from my ancient, but well-loved porn collection. The photographs were digitally transferred to cotton, then stitched together.

“Speech From the Throne” wags a finger (of sorts) at politicians. As Canada’s parliament once again engages in competitive hand-wringing around prostitution laws, this piece seems more timely than ever.