Sofiya Loriashvili
Only You and Me
May 16 - June 27, 2026
I never considered working. Rather, I considered earning money through an activity that, according to my preconceived notions as a little girl, would involve less work. In other words, at 7 or 8 years old, I was already planning a career as a prostitute, a high-class escort, a boss's wife or a star. I wanted a job that would keep me away from the office and let me stay in the playground. I had no idea what prostitution entailed, but, just as was attracted to drugs from an early age, I also knew that I would never want to be subordinate to anyone. I didn't understand the meaning or value of financial contributions but I knew they were an inevitable part of life. I wanted to be paid for just standing there, for being beautiful and hot, young and fresh. The idea of being a living doll, an object of male utility never bothered me. I find that being desired is synonymous with success.
I grew up surrounded by beautiful women who went out with hideous men, and hideous men who drove beautiful cars. The parallels were quite obvious: if I wanted to stay away from the office, I had to be desirable. Then, little by little, I started to find ugly men attractive and young and handsome men useless. It was a magic trick my brain played on me to prepare me for my future playground. I never worried as much as my family did about my grades, because I knew. I knew I would find another way.
I have no idea where, at such a young age, I got the idea that my sole ambition was to do as little as possible and get the most out of it - but that was my goal. Choosing the easy way out - and what would be easier than being paid to wear a skirt, I thought? I wanted it all, and I wanted it now. It was the idea and the burden I carried ever since I was a little girl. Lots of money, quickly; lots of pleasure, immediately. Overall, it backfired. Martin rang my doorbell that night. I opened the door and he climbed into bed next to me. He penetrated me, it hurt. He finished and we fell asleep. I was glad that Martin came. I was in love with Martin.
I didn't understand my obsession with dolls right away, something was missing. But it kept me busy. As long as they don't bother us, men can do what they want. If they want to have sex with silicone, that's their prerogative. There was something both extremely disturbing and attractive about these inert feminine bodies. They were all frozen, waiting to become something. Their eyes were empty and their mouths were half-opened as if they were ready to say something.
Almost all of them had a slight squint; it's difficult to emulate a human gaze. They all had different skin tones, hair, piercings, tattoos. Some had just come out of the mold with their most important feature: a pair of perfect breasts. They all weighed between 30 and 40 kilograms - to make the experience more human-like. Some were made of TPE and collected all the dust from their homes while others were made of silicone and were very expensive.
When I met Manon, with her blonde wig and huge breasts, when I saw her sitting on the toilets with her legs spread apart and her sex merging with her anus, it clicked. I felt her pain, it hurt as much as it did when Martin decided the naked girl on his right was a girl who wanted it, a girl he could use. Then, I saw her worn knees, boneless fingers, torn lip corners and long tangled hair.
Manon suddenly seemed much more human and I wanted to take her with me, to offer her some rest, to brush her long hair and apply balm to her wounds. Then I met Léanira, Irène, Chérie and many more and I realized that they were living my childhood dream. Those bitches stole my job, and they're doing it a thousand times better because they're silent. They embody the pinnacle of perfect femininity and they'll always beat me. Because they won't get old, and they won't ever complain. (SL)
Sofiya Loriashvili (b. 1999, Ukraine) lives and works in Paris, FR. Her monograph ‘Only You and Me’ was published by Fisheye Editions (Paris) and featured at Festival d'Arles (2024). She has exhibited across Paris and Japan, most recently at La Maison Guerlain Paris, (2025) in En Plein Cœur curated by Hervé Mikaeloff and Benoit Baume. She has been featured in Dazed, i-D, Libération, Metal Magazine, Vice, Perimento, among others. This is Loriashvili’s first exhibition in the US.