The image on the Tee is created by a “Bot” that records Webcam Performers when they livestream. Bots post these ‘contact sheet’ rectangles on hundreds of porn sites along with preview clips and full-length stolen footage. The recordings are marketed and sold without the Webcam Performer’s permission circumventing their income by hosting their work in a place they did not intend.

Cam Performer’s have the right to request that their stolen footage be taken down via the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). If a performer finds a reportable image or video of themselves (which could be a full-time job in itself as the Internet is vast and the images are innumerable), removal requires the performer to provide their name, address, phone number and website they work on, completely compromising their safety and identity. Takedown notices are not always effective, most sites refuse to respond.

In an industry where little is documented about the time and effort a performer puts in, I continue to make art using the recordings, reclaiming my images: hard proof that I’ve clocked in and out of my job.

In the image, I enact my signature fetish performance for my chatroom: cake-sitting.