The Sauce: Former sex worker-turned-politician Fiona Patten auctions off collection of erotica
Former sex worker-turned-politician Fiona Patten is auctioning off her collection of erotica with a political flavour, including this eye-popping artwork featuring former senator Amanda Vanstone.
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Her 2018 biography Sex, Drugs and the Electoral Roll raised eyebrows when politician Fiona Patten opened up about her early years as a sex worker in Canberra and Cairns, a stint that led to a career as a sex educator and sex worker activist.
Now a collection of erotica owned by the Leader of the Reason Party and her partner and fellow lobbyist Robbie Swan will likely do the same when it goes to auction through Lawsons next week.
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Special Sauce correspondent Annette Sharp reports the former sex industry lobbyist and CEO of Australia’s national adult industry association, Eros, spent two decades collating the Bodypolitics collection with Swan from the 1990s while the couple were travelling and working as political lobbyists.
Their plan was to exhibit the works to promote anti-censorship.
The 400-item collection contains works by Brett Whiteley, Charles Blackman and Sidney Nolan, sketches by Norman Lindsay, political cartoons by Bill Leak and Eric Lobbecke, film posters for Alvin Purple, Emmanuelle, Linda Lovelace movies and ephemera including a Phantom comic “Married At Last”.
It was finally shown in Canberra in 2000 under the name National Museum of Erotica.
In 2009 the couple mothballed the collection after launching The Sex Party.
Her election to the Victorian parliament in 2014 and re-election in 2018 has prompted the collection’s sale.
Lawsons said the collection is not “indicative of a fine art auction but more of a personal collection of material”.
The Whiteley sketch, Lovers, is expected to go for between $3000 and $5000, with early bidding at $2800.
At the other end of the scale is a newspaper cover cage poster from 1986: “How I Lost My Pants: Fraser” which expects to attract $150-plus and was sitting at a conservative $45 yesterday. The internet auction is on September 20.
NO-SHOW NEILL
Celebrity spotters hoping for a glimpse of Hollywood star Sam Neill at this week’s midwinter ball in Canberra will be disappointed, with The Sauce learning that the actor won’t be sitting alongside partner and ABC reporter Laura Tingle.
The good news? Legendary Aussie entertainer Daryl Braithwaite and Adelaide cabaret star Hans will be at Parliament House on Wednesday night to entertain federal pollies, flacks and hacks.
The glamour factor is expected to be lower this year, with Julie Bishop out of politics and the ever-stylish Chloe Shorten not expected to show up.
But colourful characters Jacqui Lambie, Derryn Hinch and Pauline Hanson will be at the ball to bring some spark to the event.
FUNDRAISER GOES FLAT
Still on the midwinter shindig — and in a sure sign the Canberra bubble is losing altitude — an online fundraiser flogging FaceTime with the nation’s leaders has fallen flat.
The money goes to the press gallery’s favourite charities, to be announced on Wednesday night.
Forking out big bickies to break bread with pollies is enough to make most lose their lunch, which might explain why, as of yesterday afternoon, no one had bid on a number of big-ticket dates.
They include a three-course dinner and fine wine with Leader of the Opposition Anthony Albanese and Deputy Leader Richard Marles, and even though he was good enough to play against Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter, no one wants to have a hit of tennis with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
Similarly, no one wants to go on a hot-air balloon ride with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds. The only auction item that has generated serious interest is two business class return tickets to London or New York — without any politicians.
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Originally published as The Sauce: Former sex worker-turned-politician Fiona Patten auctions off collection of erotica
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