» The Festival of the Art of Japanese Bondage

London, 2nd to 5th April 2010

Peter Felix Kurtz was invited by Mistress Amrita to photograph her live bondage performance, which formed part of The Festival of the Art of Japanese Bondage.

Now in its second year, The Festival of the Art of Japanese Bondage was held at the Resistance Gallery in London during the long-weekend 2nd to 5th April 2010.

The four day festival, organised by Bruce Argue (Esinem) and Garry Vanderhorne, showcased Kinbaku (also known as Shibari, or Japanese rope bondage). The series of events included workshops, master classes, talks, presentations, performances, and a gallery showing interpretations of the art of bondage in a variety of media.

The main event, running throughout the third night (10pm to 5am), comprised continuous performances from a dazzling array of international bondage practitioners, some appearing in the UK for the first time.

The interior of the Resistance Gallery, located under a railway arch in East London’s Bethnal Green, was decorated for the event in a Japanese theme, and Japanese food was provided by Mura City Sushi. The venue held a packed audience, all eager to observe the entrancing performances that were unfolding under the robust suspension unit gracing the stage.

The night was spectacular, not only for the sheer wealth and variety of artists, all united by their practiced technical expertise, but also because they were so profoundly different in the execution of their routines.

We give you a brief synopsis of some of the performances, as follows.

Shadow mesmerised the audience with her deft movements and visual wit. Her slave, Felix, once securely tied, had his clothes torn from his body in a series of ritualistic blade cuts as he hung suspended in her neat web of rope. This raised laughter from the audience as he let out shrieks, from a combination of theatrical gusto and intended discomfort.

'Guilty' presented a double bondage performance. It was particularly fascinating to watch as the two bound and suspended girls were left for a moment to swing in a tangled chaos of bare flesh and contorted limbs, like an animated Jake and Dinos Chapman sculpture, a confusion of contorted movement and thwarted escape, before they were finally released.

Boy Kitten indulged us with an art piece of self bondage, made all the more intriguing because of his striking androgynous appearance. Mounting the stage in thigh-high ballet boots, giving him a formidable height, he entranced the audience by securing himself upside down through a series of rope fastenings, carving the air like an exotic ballerina, with a measured balance of violence and grace.

Mistress Amrita, who is a veteran fetish performer (having appeared in bondage shows in more than twenty countries), captivated the audience with arguably the most elaborate act of the night. Her stylish stage performance, contained within a huge plastic bubble (which was kept inflated by two shiny industrial fans), combined the ancient art of Shibari with Japanese water torture. Alia, from Rome (who Amrita regularly performs with), was dressed as an exotic mermaid. Once liberated from the fishing net, in which she was initially wrapped, the mermaid was tied, suspended, and finally dunked in a tank of water in a unique display of erotic bondage and breathplay. The remarkable use of the giant plastic bubble not only saved the audience from getting drenched, but also enhanced the voyeuristic quality of the performance. As the spraying water covered the inner plastic skin in glistening droplets, the viewers focus became more intently concentrated upon the intimate spectacle recounting inside the transparent cocoon.

Kinoko Hajime, one of the younger generation of Japanese Kinbaku stars, held the audience enthralled as he performed for the first time on a UK stage. Without music, he put on a show that was at once ubiquitously intense, intimately sensual, and wildly erotic. His ropework was elaborate and intricate, yet strong and enduring, allowing him seemingly infinite possibilities to seamlessly bind and release, rework and change. His performance, which was not accompanied by music, brought an electric silence to the room: the only sounds being the creak of rope, occasionally punctuated with split bamboo striking flesh. The soft gasps and sensual cries of the beautifully bound Japanese girl left much of the audience utterly aroused.

It was an absolutely enchanting weekend, an unmitigated triumph for the organisers, and a real privilege to have shared in it.