Interview with Vex Ashley, The Founder of Creative Porn Studio Four Chambers

ON WHY VEX GOT INTO THE ADULT ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

I've always been fascinated with sex, so even when I was younger, I think there was something about the power that it had and the way that you weren't supposed to talk about it, and something about that really excited me.

I've always just kind of wanted to have a life full of weird experiences, and I think that I saw the potential in sex work for it to be kind of fun and interesting and creative, and you know, potentially a lot more profitable than a minimum wage retail job.

HOW PORN INFLUENCED HER VIEW ON SEXUALITY AND DESIRE

What society has told us is sexy and attractive is so narrow in comparison to what people actually want to see and like, the diversity and the complexity of our sexuality. You know, it's really made me appreciate that there really is something for everyone and that that something for everyone is way more complex than we're told it is.

Porn, sex work, and sex, really, don't get enough credit for how kind of actually weird, diverse, experimental, explorative it really is, because that is what human sexuality is. And for me, I think it just kind of allowed me to experiment with sexual performance, experiment and try on different types of sex in quite a boundaried way. And then I got to kind of take some of that learning into my personal sex life. And it also gave me opportunities to work with some incredible people and incredible sex professionals who've taught me so much about sex and the body, and really experiencing your sexuality.

WHAT IS SEXY FOR YOU, VEX?

For me, sexy is what makes you feel alive. So, does this thing, this person, this experience, does it make me feel connected to myself, to my body? Does it make me feel more alive?

ON WHY SHE STARTED HER PORN STUDIO

I was really interested if I could basically bring the same kind of experimentation with visuals, experimentation with concepts that I was making in my artwork, to my work with sex, and so basically I just started messing around with a camera for the first time. We had no experience, we had no basis in filmmaking at all. Making these kinds of short, teasy, experimental videos and posting them online, and the response was really incredible. Way more than we ever could have imagined. So it really felt like people were kind of hungry for this, or it was something that people were interested in seeing more of. And so, you know, I had the confidence of a 23-year-old, and I was like, maybe I can start my own pornography house on Tumblr. And apparently, it worked because 10 years later, I am still here today, still doing the same thing.

WHY FOUR CHAMBERS?

The name Four Chambers is inspired by Anaïs Nin’s novel The Four-Chambered Heart. The reference to the heart evokes something embodied and visceral — a vital organ that pulses with life. Each film is imagined as its own chamber or room: an intimate space you briefly enter, experience fully, then gently close the door behind as you move on.

WHAT MAKES FOUR CHAMBERS MOVIES UNIQUE

I think I try and make films that don't just look like sex, don't just show sex graphically or explicitly, but also feel like the intensity and the atmosphere and the emotion of, like, what fucking feels like, maybe even what fucking feels like in your imagination, following your desire. And yeah, I think for me that often comes with a sense of maybe not getting everything at once, like not getting this kind of instant gratification, it being a bit of a tease. For me, it's tied into a real sense of what makes something erotic or hot – this idea that we don't always have a hundred per cent of the information, but our imagination can run wild, and it allows us to kind of be engaged when we're watching something rather than just passively receiving it. Hopefully, it's firing off some of the viewers' thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

WHAT THREE THINGS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR SOMEONE WHO’S STRUGGLING TO EMBRACE THEIR SEXUALITY?

First, don't panic. Everybody thinks that the sex that everybody else is having is so much better; everyone else is so much more sexually experienced; everyone else knows so much more. But also, everybody feels like that. You know, even the people who, you know, you wouldn't expect, like people who are sex professionals, people who work in this space. Everybody feels that they're not doing it right. So really, it's a universal feeling.

Secondly, take risks. Get out of your comfort zone, push yourself a little bit. You know, I guess the equivalent of the that phrase is do one thing every day that scares you. Because I think that's basically just outside of your comfort zone is where that excitement, that kind of learning is going to take place.

And lastly, remember that good sexuality comes from a full, interesting and engaged life, so don't just focus on buying a bunch of sex toys and thinking about sex all the time. For me, sexuality is this amazing byproduct of living well. So, eat good food, have good experiences, meet new people, you know, try new things. All of these things are going to come back and really infuse and feed your sexuality, give you the confidence and the experience to take it back into your sexual expression. 

Follow Vex Ashley & watch Four Chambers here.