My thesis project, Dom & Sub, a.k.a. why I’ve been such a bad tumblr-er/bad friend/etc. My artist statement:
Dom & Sub is a body of illustrative work in digital media that attempts to humanize practitioners of BDSM and offer a representation of kinky sex that not only refutes negative stereotypes but informs the audience that sadomasochistic play is done best between happy, healthy, and consenting adults. I portrayed the couple in the work not only engaging in S&M play but also building a “scene” together and nurturing one another after the play has concluded; these are moments often left unconsidered or completely ignored in visual representations of S&M. I believe it’s important to see how kinky scenes are crafted with care, commitment to safety and enthusiastic consent in order to limit those times when sadomasochistic play is used to abuse or dehumanize other human beings. It is my hope that my audience will learn from the illustrations that sadomasochistic play is not always dark or scary, and that fellow ‘kinksters’ can enjoy tender representations of S&M that do not ridicule or pathologize them. I’ve designed the work to engage sadomasochistic imagery, material and theory with an ethical conscience.
