After collaborating on an Ex-Voto inspired photograph the year before, Xiamara Chupaflor approached me with a concept of combining elements of erotic/pornographic playing cards from the 1980s with the sacred intentions of votive candles. while centering sex and erotic workers in this brujeria, she so aptly wondered: "why isn’t there a whore named Abre Camino?”

following Chupaflor’s shoot, we felt compelled to continue creating these prayer photographic altars with sex/erotic workers for whom votive offerings are part of their practice.

We believe artwork made by and for sex workers is of radical need at this time. The aesthetics of sex work are saturating pop culture; and yet, in most cases, the creators and personas donning the “look” do so without reverence, respect, and a lived experience of this complex, often dangerous, and necessary work. As a group that is constantly having to defend itself in terms of legal status, cultural legitimation, and often femme people not acknowledged for their hard labor, it is rare to enter into spaces where workers can take a breath, relax, and simply bask in the joy of creative expression together. We present this invitation to collaborate as a balm, a continued prayer, and a way of giving gratitude to each other. We work to remind workers in this community that they are holy, worthy, and deserving of adornment.