My advice is to cease trying to make sense of your work in terms of the high-end art photography marketplace. Understand that works that sell in the 5-6 figure range are the product of a well tuned marketing process. In simplified terms:
Say you are a top-selling gallery owner. You:
1) select an artist, any artist. It does not matter. (see below)
2) weave a back story (a narrative that allows you to communicate some reason why this artist is interesting). Keep the narrative simple and, if it will play well at a cocktail party, that's a plus.
3) choose from your list of potential buyers who have significant disposable income. Having such a list is
the vital component.
4) work with the buyer's tax consultant to set up their purchases as a good financial investment
5) obtain the cooperation of important museums and critics by cutting them in on ground-floor opportunities to profit as well
6) drive up the price of the artist's work by seeing that they sell for inflated prices at auction houses. If necessary, rig the auctions to insure they have the appearance of real increased worth.
7) while the above process is percolating, the buyer can show off their work to their friends, use the artist as an exotic accessory at their parties, have exhibits with their name prominent at the complicit museums, etc. (Or, if more convenient, simply warehouse it.)
donate the works to the museums and harvest the tax benefits.
9) once the cycle is complete the artist may be discarded if they no longer serve the criterion below
Selecting the artist:
Base your choice on a combination of:
1) the individual's back-story (e.g. bizarre class, ethnic, or sub-cultural features)
2) sexual attractiveness/complicity
3) in some cases the ability to help capitalize the original investment is good (trust fund holders)
Remember that the art market has no regulatory body equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Also, it is your efforts at spinning the narratives and making the deal that are important. You can do this with any work at all; the supply side is irrelevant.
There you have it. It is unlikely that the above is relevant to your work. So quit being concerned with it.
