Sweat stained pleather seats of the overground
Jewels of condensation
A synthetic sheer wrap sealing in summers juices
Odd glances and side eyes
A portion of unassociated uncomfortability
A head full of intrigue and the beginning of more questions

After a handful of months in which one's mind has been occupied by anxieties developed by our new uncertain reality; I have not yet enjoyed a socially distanced overground journey more than leaving the rooftop balcony of Darya Diamond. A mind busy with the positive torment of wanting more, I continue to scribble notes, queries and quandaries.

The girlfriend experience / Process of reproduction / Radical form of care Transactional sexuality / Fielding peoples issues  / Art is an autonomous realm
Maria

Diamond’s work dips in and out of the expectation of malfunction and the satisfactory combination of monotony and methodology. Completely seduced by her moments of rupture and the clash of intervention; it is easy to see her work as an avenue for survival.

We often take for granted the way a creative mind works with past experiences, learnt behaviours from institutionalized bodies and the act of compartmentalization. The pre-process that lays the groundwork for conscious and unconscious associations in which projects are born. As I sit with Darya, it becomes clear that her current process is as much a reaction and/or extention of her sexwork as it is a result of her educational past, both regulated and self sought after. The transitional study of art from the US to the UK, has highlighted the very brazen (definitely indisputable) differences between the two and Darya’s work has been constructed from the embers of both. The American mentality encouraged a radical practice of experimentation while the UK has provided “...institution(s) steeped in stale patriarchy and tenants of tradition”. This opposite pairing has allowed a breeding ground for change in which Darya bypasses institutional failures, pushes boundaries and challenges societal views that are well past their use by date.

It seems to me that there is something within these doctrines of authentic  leftist criticality themselves that blocks their otherwise worthwhile claims from being realised. - Art Education and the Predicament of Professionalised Criticality
Suhail Malik

As the British summer temps hit an all time high and with the studios of Goldsmiths still closed due to Covid; we sit in the shade of the house on the small roof terrace and part-time makeshift studio. As the dappled midday sunlight bathes the black tar roof, it’s not hard to imagine the production line of screen printed tiles lined up like memory match cards. Irregular squares of porcelain adorned with the repetitious copies of Darya’s alter persona ‘Maria’; cleaning, scrubbing and working. Although a comment on our current fixation with consumerism; the tile series also unmasks Maria as a reality of Diamond’s life and work. “Maria is a performance, she is a signifier, and she is my strength and my superpower”. An expression of pure hypersexuality, a gateway for open communication and the projection of fantasies and fetishes. “She listens forever. She performs a confessional space”. Maria is the provider, a giver of physical stimulation, attention and emotional labour. The architect of an intimate microcosm - the ‘Girlfriend Experience’ by way of radical forms of care; becoming the embodiment of interconnectedness and new forms of co-existence.

“As an artist, I am a more vulnerable human {than my sex work persona’s are}”

With a practice that aims to demystify sex work, so much of our conversation covered the simple matter of humanising the industry. Speaking openly about altering the meaning of the sexualised image and providing a reminder that they have become so much a part of our day to day they could now be considered arbitrary. It is with this in mind that Darya offers to show me ‘Judgement Proof’, a new film work finished over lockdown. Watching the documented visuals of a recent trip back to California, it feels slightly nostalgic. Reminiscent of Nan Goldin with it’s references to intimacy, sexuality and humanity. With no formal introduction to the narrative, it doesn’t take long to realise that we have become a third party to Maria and her guest/s. There is something quite comforting about the gentle musings and fragmented conversations; as they both contrast and compliment the roadside motels, neons and car parks on screen; and although these are the very things that have caused a questioning of ethics, I can’t help but feel reassured by the honestly, vulnerability and dedication to challenging the adverse perceptions targeting sexwork. Sexuality and intimacy on a transactional basis do not need to be fetishized. As Darya explains it is a form of “engineered authenticity..a provision of care” that has both affected her work and understanding of intimacy.

“My practice aims to elaborate on the body both as a site for pleasure, power, labor and subjectivation”

When you enter Darya’s website you are greeted with archival footage reminiscent of our very earnest conversation. Momentary portals that highlight the private versus public debate evident throughout many of her projects. There are very few things more sincere than the trust placed between two conforming parties, the credence given over to the collaborative process to bear the fruits of malfunction and surprise. ‘Mrs Clean’ was a culmination of many working parts in which strangers produced short videos using the soaps Darya had cast from various body parts. By relinquishing sole control of the project, what ensued was entirely organic and layered not only with the initial interpretations but those shared by the community of people that made it their own. A prime example of “...the importance of horizontal education and collectivized programs of support wherein the emphasis is no longer on the hierarchy of retro authority but instead on the strength and empowerment of community”. An attempt to steer away from fielding peoples issues with discomfort and exploitation by providing the foundation for constructive conversations. If one is afforded creative outputs grounded in collective commonality, there is a hope that the focus can then shift from an ethical debate about the content to an understanding of the wider concepts that Darya explores.

“Friedrich Schiller, letter IX…”

The German philosopher Friedrich Schiller elaborated on Christoph Wieland’s concept of die schöne seele (the beautiful soul). A human being whose emotions have been educated by reason, emphasising the relationship between morality and aesthetics along with human freedom and the value of self preservation. At a time when everything seems so uncertain, some things need to remain consistent. Freedom of expression has never seemed more imperative than this year; a period of shifting tensions, transitions and unpredictability. What is art if not at times confronting? Darya allows a passage for growth and new understandings and her work is a paradigm of why the artistic process needs to remain an autonomous realm.