Hamburg’s legendary red-light district St Pauli is as deserted as any other place on earth during the pandemic. But it’s still one of the most original and creative places on earth. The owner of the former pharmacy »L’Apotheque« is now cooperating with a sex toy historian and several high profile female media artists and personalities. The exhibition can only be visited online for now but it seems like a future touristic magnet for the time after the pandemic.
The old pharmacy in Hamburg St Pauli has become a sort of dildo museum. The sex toy historian Nadine Beck borrowed her collection to the heiress of the historic pharmacy still featuring turn-of-the-century displays and furniture. If it wasn’t for the COVID pandemic visitors could get a look at the ever-changing forms and designs sex toys and dildos took over the decades.
Beck did her PhD-thesis about the history of female sex toys, especially from the 50s and 60s. Concerning her specialty, she said: »My research started with the invention of the massager. And I was specifically looking into the attitudes of the people towards it. What did they think about it? Were these toys welcomed? Did women say: Yeah, finally I can have an orgasm whenever I want? Or did men say: That’s unfair competition.«
Now her collection of interesting toys, some more discrete, some outlandish like »The Imperator« or a strange toy looking like a plastic kitchen scale from the former GDR from the exhibition at the L’Apotecque.
Anna Genger is the daughter of the former pharmacist running the historic pharmacy founded in 1799 for over 50 years. Genger understands herself as a multimedia artist. »As I’m not a pharmacist but an artist, I got the idea to transform this into a museum for historic sex toys while also exhibiting contemporary art.«
Regarding the current exhibition Genger said: »We want to create a bridge between sexuality and art in such a way that themes like sex education, feminism and femininity can be shown in a pedagogical way.« She found the inspiration for her rethinking of the L’Apotheque through her upbringing in Hamburg’s red-light district. Her mother was very liberal and was helping transsexuals many decades ago when the topic was still too difficult to even talk about in public.
Anna Genger partnered with Myriam Karsch, chief editor of the German edition of Playboy Magazine, local activist Ana Amil and Bianca Müller, who serves as creative director at the L’apotheque.
For now, the only way to visit the exhibition is online. You can access the site here.