Looking at “Gender reversal” new photo set, I am reminded of the intimacy between photographer and the subject which parallels the intimacy created by the power dynamics of a D/s scene.
First act: The photo: Mistress in male dress, a bundle of rope in hand.
The refracted light from a small jewel lamp hits the crescent of a low table and shapes the scene. The iridescent diamond rays chisel the polished amber wood, the upholstered cushion of a cream sofa and the hand holding lightly the knotted ends of a rope. The rays fan out seemingly absorbed by the seams of the curved backrest which prolongate the effect, opening the stage of what is to come.
The photo centres on a woman looking directly at the camera in a man’s attire, holding a bundle of rope, seated with her legs wide open. Her necktie is undone, seemingly at the ready to be used as a blindfold, gag or bondage. The shirt is unbuttoned to the sternum. The opened collar draws an arrow of near cinnamon skin which emphasises the intent of the woman’s gaze and then leads the eyes to the geometrically lit hand and the rope in a continuous loop.
Diamond light, fingers, rope, white shirt, neck, oval of the face, long nose, black eyes, slicked-back hair, the soft curve of the sofa, eyes, oval, v of the neck, white shirt and undone tie, rope, fingers, diamond light… This little dance of the submissive eyes lowered, then peeking higher up to get a glance at the Dominant is interrupted by the magical composition which compels to go further, into a wider loop and the sketched unknown.
The gaze is pulled to the left of the sitter, in the space which opens past the woman and into the bejewelled lit darkness, punctuated by two little lamps, upholstered cream low chairs and pouffes, and to the right at the very back of the room, where, in a pool of blurred gold, sits a table and a glass cabinet reflecting yet another of the precious lamps.
The eyes are brought back to the woman via a column of disrupted incandescence. And the little dance of the eyes starts again, unsuspectingly entrapped by the diffracted beams which, with each new loop cocoons and binds the viewer in this, the prologue of a scene.
This photograph is one of a new set we created, Natasha Gornik and I and that you can browse through in the Gallery “Gender reversal”.
Interlude: a meeting of minds, a glamours setting, a bundle of rope and a concealed cock.
Ever since I came back to London for 18 months looking after my mother in Switzerland, I knew I was due a new series of photos. Two ideas - a gender reversal series and a Goddess shoot inspired by the iconic film Metropolis from master director Fritz Lang - had been promenading my mind for the past several years. I had not yet materialised them.
So, when my friend and fellow kinkster, the visual artist & photographer Natasha Gornik decided to visit, it was time to play and go to work. Ruby, the owner of the elegant bar Fontaine’s in Dalston opened her beautiful space for us on a sunny Sunday and we jammed on the reversal of roles, the Female cock, played with images that sprang from my childhood befuddlement at the concepts of genre.
Flash back to first intimations of gender and pan sexuality. The paintings and Ink drawings of Leonor Fini open the doors to a universe of shadows illuminated by ambivalent, transgressive actors immersed in erotic explorations.
As a little girl, I was forever vexed at my short hair and the diktat of modernist sobriety imposed by my very aesthetically conscious parents. All I wanted was long locks, ballet shoes, tutus and frills… I was fascinated by my beautiful Venus of a mother and would experiment with her make-up, try on her laced bras, and stockings and totter in her high heels as soon as she was out of the house. In her cupboard, effluvia of Mitsouko, her perfume, lingered and each item of lingerie was stamped with the mysterious fragrance composed in 1919 by Jacques Guerlain. The delicate and complex scent, fruity yet spicy transported me to an alternative world where I was one of the gorgeous sphinxes of Leonor Fini. In a whirl of black gauzes and lace, my face half-revealed by a beautiful feathered mask, I observed a party perched on a rock before descending and joining the dancers.
Leonor Fini art is one of my first childhood aesthetic revelations. Together with Degas and Jean Cocteau. they articulated at different levels my nascent passion for “the Theatre of Life”, the power of performance, and the intimate connection with self that is asked by the Muses. They each exposed a sensuality transcended in their medium. Unbeknownst to me, Cocteau and Fini also revealed a sexual ambivalence that attracted me from the first time I set my eyes on their work.
“A painting is something like a spectacle, a theatre piece in which each figure lives out her part.” Leonor Fini
Second act: Eros transcends gender and leads to transformation.
Back to the first photo set: I wanted to play with male stereotypes and clichés of the sexual stance that can deliciously turn on the submissive in a series of subversive little choreographies of the eyes.
For once, I dropped leather and corset and donned pinned stripes, a white shirt and a tie. I kept diaphanous nylons and black patent stilettos though. And my cock.
Reminiscent of old French torch songs when young women are seduced by beautiful, sulphurous men who open the door to pleasures unknown, this set is also inspired by Anais Nin’s expressive sensual writings.
Sex has no gender for me. It is an infinite stage of experimentation and if I prefer the constraining, hierarchical and ritualistic language of BDSM, it is because I find that limitations offer an unimaginable scope for the imagination and for pushing the boundaries of our mundane minds and bodies and transcend our realities.
When we play with genres, exploring feminity and masculinity, we discover the Pan nature of lust that knows no boundaries, but only pleasure and connection. When we explore pain, restriction, Dominance and submission, we extend the repertoire of sensations and connections. When we engage in humiliation and transgression consensually, we open the doors to unspoken, concealed arousal and connection. Erotic connection accesses our emotions as well as our sensuality and our lusts, we transcend ourselves and delve into the Sacred.
Third act: The dance of intimacy
The diamond beams ignite your surrender as you kneel in front of your Mistress in the sepia glow of the bar, and the net is cast.
I watch you in a similar way I watched the camera when Natasha pressed the shutter.
It is an appraisal and a breath, a suspended moment where our energies orbit each other. Then, the dance starts as I describe what will happen. With each word, you relax and offer your will, with each breath you melt into the shapes I lead you in. Breath and words are the musical structure of connection. Sensations and emotions released by them as you dive deeper into yourself, deeper into submission charge my lead as I transport you into this dance that transmutes us both.
Nuit by Natasha Gornik
You can browse through the first series of the new set here: Gender reversal
If you are interested in gender explorations, bondage and/or role play, you may find these pages interesting:
Transformation, feminisation, sissification, slut training
Should you be a true devotee: you may contact me for a Pro-Domme session after having made sure we are suited:
• Session with Maîtresse Nuit:
https://www.maitressenuit.com/in-person-sessions