Moments of Impact
Throughout both my photographic and kink practice, I deeply value trust, connection, and vulnerability between myself and my models/scene partners. Combining these practices has been transformative for my photographic work. Furthermore, my experience making the impact play toys that were used in the scenes shown throughout this body of work gave me an entirely different relationship with the instruments I was using to inflict pain, and the materials/labor required for this type of leather-working. This book of photographs and quotes reveals impact play as the intimate act of care that it is, and examines the vulnerable connection between scene partners.
As the pages of the book unfold, the audience is first presented with a quote from the negotiation, a still image of an impact play toy, and the name of said toy. (Negotiations prior to all kink scenes is integral to my practice, so including quotes from the negotiations in the book felt significant.) Following that is a series of three photographs from the impact play scene associated with that toy. In the process of sifting through images from all of the scenes, I found that, within each of the scenes respectively, there was an example of the approach to the scene, the pain within a scene, and the caress within a scene. Impact play revolves around safely exploring someone’s desire for pain-based sensory experiences, and the caress is always as important as the pain. However the pain is just as intimate as the caress. Each piece is intertwined with the connection between myself and my scene partner, and the ability to fully trust one another.
This caring portrayal of impact play can allow an audience, that otherwise may not engage with kink at all, a glimpse into the world of inflicting pain as an act of intimacy. My scene partner C.H.S. was integral to the creation of these photographs, and the book as a whole. I am deeply grateful for their trust and vulnerability.
