The first time Houston native Adrienne Raquel stepped into Club Onyx, she knew there was a story to tell: one that centred the power, style, and creativity of Black Southern women performing at the legendary strip club.
Immortalised in songs by Megan Thee Stallion and Drake, Onyx has built a reputation for honouring exotic dancing as an art form in its own right. Possessed with an inimitable blend of athleticism and artistry, the women who take the stage are sirens, vixens, and stars who have transformed the conversation around sex work.
Inspired by golden-era video vixens from her youth in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Raquel set forth to chronicle these women in her new book, ONYX. With it, Raquel celebrates the hypnotic power of female sexuality in a series of candy-coloured scenes of beauty and bliss.
Offering a counterpoint to more traditional depictions of sex work, Raquel taps into the dancers’ sensuality without objectifying them. “Most of the time, in these spaces, women are seen through male eyes,” she says. “As a woman, I see them through a different light. It’s all about the ladies, and my goal above all else is to highlight their physicality and artistry, as well as the human being within them. These are everyday women.”