Sofiya Loriashvili's Stripper Edition: Behind the Mask of Parisian Nightlife

Ukrainian-born photographer and dancer Sofiya Loriashvili, based in France, has released 'Stripper Edition,' a documentary series capturing the off-stage lives of strippers in a Parisian club. The project began as a school internship assignment, which she chose to pursue outside a conventional office setting. Loriashvili's work focuses on the backstage moments in the dressing room, where dancers shed their stage personas—changing their walk, facial expressions, and voice—before entering the performance space. Her broader practice documents her generation's experiences during the Covid era, pre-war period, and ongoing conflict, drawing from her own history in psychiatric hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Her raw, unfiltered style echoes the social documentary traditions of photographers like Susan Sontag and Nan Goldin. The article was produced in collaboration with Luigi Falanga and Gaia Forlin.