It’s just past 10pm and I’m in Barcelona’s trendy El Poblenou district, a former industrial region now overflowing with late night tapas bars (think street-side tables, chain-smoking locals, vermouth, glossy green olives). Unlike the chic crowds of Spaniards, however, I wasn’t here to eat tapas. I’d found myself in El Poblenou with another motive: watching virtual reality porn.
A few hours earlier, I’d received an email with the address for “Europe’s first immersive erotic experience” which is named House of ERIKALUST. The installation is the brainchild of the Swedish film director Erika Lust, who, for the past twenty plus years, has been creating porn that champions ethical working conditions, embracing sexual diversity and realistic depictions of female pleasure.
