Candyland

On the heels of Moneygame, photographer Elizabeth Waterman’s acclaimed series on strippers across the United States, the lockdown prevented access to crowded and possibility superspreader nightclubs.

“Goddesses of sex and light, fully owning their own bodies and sexuality with innate empowerment.” This is how photographer Elizabeth Waterman describes the female adult entertainers featured in Candyland, a series of colorful and vibrant portraits designed to capture the unique personalities of the subjects. The actresses were very much a part of the creative process, adding their own ideas to create playful images celebrating their individual beauty and charisma. Waterman’s previous book, Moneygame, an acclaimed photographic depiction of the world of strip clubs across the USA, inspired her to invite some of America’s leading porn stars to take part in a project which reflects them through a female lens, shot against vibrant, sunlit Southern Californian settings. “I liked showing them in deliciousness, excess, and fun and glory,” said Waterman. “The porn stars that I photographed were happy to be doing what they were doing, they loved having sex and they were good at it.”