Tied up

Art models don’t smile.
Art models don’t do bondage.
Art models most certainly don’t work with riggers.

Which one of those sentences is false?
All.

Generally I prefer to be mobile when it comes to art modeling, but have found that once I have a good working relationship with a photographer, exploring bondage as an art is enjoyable. And creates some pretty pictures. The trick is to keep the emphasis on the art, the good lighting, the right angles, and the right concepts. I am sure some of my friends cringe when I tell them about being tied into a closet by Michael Siu, or one of my earlier experiments that ended in me toppled to the ground, tied to a chair, nude, and merely inches from a shoe rack.

Since I have been staying in Houston, I have had the opportunity to work with friend and photographer Krist several times. Our first shoot featured portraiture with stuffed chickens, random clothing, and an some sort of renaissance alien space ship installation. Our next shoot explored religious images. So of course our following shoot was a shoot with a rigger. As someone who is all having different experiences, I was psyched but a little anxious about our next shoot. But the nerves dissipated by my arrival at his doorstep. I walked in to a giant swing set in the middle of the living room studio space. This is what I would be harnessed to from my chest and hips. I spent the afternoon suspended in space, dancing and twisting in a sea of hemp ropes. It was exhausting and exhilarating. I was sideways, upside-down, this way, that way. I had a leg tied to my arm, and a leg outstretched and tied above me at one point. I left the shoot with a grin on my face and my head floating in the clouds.

So thank you Krist and Gary. And sign me up again!

Photos by Doctor Z, the rigger.