About the exhibition
Sexcam – portraits of webcam sex workers. The age-old medium of oil painting on canvas meets the whimsical colours and distorted perspectives of video streaming. Artist is a former sex worker, struggling with age crisis due to loss of looks and market value.
As a child seeking solace and shelter from abuse, the mirror became my sanctuary — a portal into a world of allure and idealised femininity. Wearing my mother’s dresses and high heels, I immersed myself in a fantasy where I transformed into a beautiful, assertive, and seductive girl. Complete with tomato tits. Once, I was taken by surprise when I heard my mother coming home. In a state of panic, I rushed to find a hiding place. Tomatoes tumbled onto the floor. Teetering unsteadily in the adult-size shoes, I accidentally crushed both tomatoes and my dreams.
Half a century later, drifting away from youth and beauty ideals, I’m becoming invisible to the desiring gaze. The validation and worth provided by the looking glass, and later sex work, is no longer within my grasp.
Sexcam is a series of portraits of webcam sex workers. The age-old medium of oil painting on canvas meets the whimsical colours and distorted perspectives of video streaming.
I invited performers to make funny, bizarre, and even grotesque faces. Still, most of them resorted to a limited repertoire of standardised expressions. Many defaulted to a robotic routine of seductive grinding once the paid session started. Others proceeded to remove their clothing, contrary to our agreement. None of the men among my potential models would agree to try this at all.
Maximilian Latva
Maximilian Latva (B.1966) is a versatile artist engaged in performance, painting, and sound art. Over the past decade, their primary focus has been on the performance art partnership Kainulainen & Latva. In the autumn of 2025, Gallery Forum Box in Helsinki featured the duo’s work in a retrospective exhibition titled Globus Hystericus. This title is also the name of a book on the subject, released by Taide Kustannus.
In Finland, the pair’s performances have taken place at venues such as Kiasma Theater and Mad House. In addition to their base Helsinki, Kainulainen & Latva has given performances in places like the Nuuk Art Museum in Greenland, the Riga Performance Festival in Latvia, and the Kaunas Artists House in Lithuania.
Maximilian Latva’s next solo exhibition will be at Galerie Toolbox in Berlin in the fall of 2026.
Latva is currently working on a two-year grant from the Kone Foundation.
Visit the exhibition
Galleria Katariina
Rikhardinkatu 1
00130 Helsinki
Open:
Tue.–Fri. 11AM –5PM
Sat.–Sun. 12PM–4PM
