The Shibari Exhibit Show

By: Ms. Misha Morê

The Art of Contemporary Shibari Exhibit was the largest display of shibari art in a gallery setting in the world held March 16-17, 2012 at Mother Dog Studios.  The Exhibit continues the centuries old tradition of displaying Shibari art, beginning with ancient Japanese wood carvings and drawings and educators in both shibari and photography techniques.  The Gallery Exhibit runs through June 3rd.

Shibari is an ancient Japanese artistic form of rope bondage. The prolific and contentious photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki, was the first to present this practice of “using ropes like an embrace and the click of the shutter like a kiss” to a world audience.

Mother Dog Studios hosted Special Performance Events that featured Live Performance Art in addition to the Photographic Art created by the exhibitors. These Special Performance Events became Private Events, allowing for some nudity which the artists and models displayed during their performances and is not visible to the general public.

Mother Dog Studios is a 22,000 square foot warehouse with 16 studios and an expansive exhibition space called the Mother Dog Museum of Modern Art and founded in 1984 by Charlie Jean Sartwelle and John Runnels.

An international group of 17 world class shibari riggers and photographers sent 159 prints to Mother Dog Studios for this exhibit, which made it the largest gallery exhibit of Contemporary Shibari Art in the world. Many of the prints in this exhibit are larger than life.

For the Opening Weekend activities, eight talented artists comprised of Alexander Neptune, Captured Erotica, Charly B, Dallas Kink, Doctor Z, Lew Rubens, Lord Neptune, and Noble Manque and their models traveled to Houston to mark this first ever gathering of kindred shibari artists.  During these events, people were able to meet and talk to the artists and models, and watched how some of the positions displayed in the exhibit art were created.

A huge thank you to Doctor Z and John Runnels for excellently organizing and spearheading this amazing group of talented and skilled artists to create and display their artwork in Texas. 
 
The following images are just a sampling of beautifully showcasing the mysterious artistry of some of the great bondage masters of our time.

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