P005 → Moment of respite

This installation piece is a continuation of a larger body of work where the artist made self portraits on gelatine where they struck themselves with a slapper. These self-portraits deconstruct the binaries that are apparent within BDSM, complicating the role of dominant vs. submissive, in a euphoric gesture far from the realities of this world. In this new installation, the images play with the ideas of relaxation and anxiety release that come from impact play. The large slapper—which is typically a small object kept in a private space for intimate use— becomes a warm blanket that holds and compresses the artist. This oversized slapper cannot be hidden away in the safety of one’s home, challenging the ideas of shame and secrecy surrounding sex, particularly within BDSM. Instead, it is proudly and confidently displayed  in a room as a means of reducing anxiety and promoting self-care. The artist aims to express the emotional and bodily feelings associated with this practice for themselves and other players through objects, images and encapsulated performance. The self-portraits have been transferred onto large sheets of gelatine. They function as a kind of curtain to play with the idea of concealment/revelation and private/public. Curtains create a separation between two spaces; the materiality of the gelatine allows play with transparency and blurriness, disrupting biases.