Whether it is sweet romance in "Pretty Woman" or fearless girl power in "Sin City", dirty gutter inhabitants, junkies, sexy and willing immigrants, or ruthless business women.
Almost no group of people is as marginalized as people in prostitution, and even though few people had actual contact with them, there are wide discussions over-filled with stereotypes, assumptions, and reproaches.
But who has ever talked to them, and got to know their true personality behind the mask?
Here in Europe, especially Eastern European women undergo many sterotypes of "being available for rich Western men", and due to financial issues some of them are indeed forced to behave that way. Brothels in Western Europe are crowded with immigrants, but nobody seems to bother why mainly immigrants seem to "like" selling their bodies.
Two illustrators Eglė Plytnikaitė and Hanuka Lohrengel from Lithuania and Latvia had the wish to get in contact with those people, listen t what they have to say, and give them a voice through art.
The results are stunning illustrations and Graphic stories, that give you chills running down the spine. They tell of rough childhoods, and hands urging people in the wrong direction. Of dreams shattered in pieces, of addiction and lost hope, but also of women with incredible strength.
Reading it is an invitation to have a cup of coffe with those women that we usually just see from the distance. It is hearing their husky words right as if they were whispered in your ears. And it gives you a glimpse on how the world looks behind the glamorous curtain of the sex industry, where all make-up is removed.
The books are part of the international Lilies of the Streets project. Next to Eglė Plytnikaitė and Hanuka Lohrengel, also the Comic Artist Apila Pepita Miettinen and the poet Ananda Walkabout particiapted and created their books on the topics.
You can find more of their works here:
http://egle.plytnikaite.com/
https://www.behance.net/egleplytnikaite
https://www.behance.net/hanukalohrengel
More info: liliesofthestreets.com
Big City Violets by Hanuka Lohrengel
There is this one long, littered street near the train station. Cars are bumping, and girls are standing on the edge, chewing sunflower seeds
The Invisibles, Picture book by Eglė Plytnikaitė
