Shin Kou Sabre was photographed by Saitoh Yoshiki with kinbaku by Osada Steve.

CHAOTIC SOLITUDE - Photo Shoot 2011 May (Toyko Japan)

This was my last evening in Japan before I headed home back to Australia in May of this year. It was a bittersweet ending to a turbulent but rewarding two month stay in Osaka and Tokyo.

It was a tough photo shoot. I was still suffering from a flu and lack of sleep from the last week. I packed my bags and travelled on the shinkansen before checking into a hotel and racing to get to Studio Six.

I was really exhausted mentally and physically and I’m sure it showed. Nevertheless I had never done a suspension before and I insisted I was prepared. I had brought a kimono but nothing else in my haste to get there on time.

Osada Steve (長田スティーブ) started with a sideways suspension with the kimono. I found suspension to involve more pain than floor work, but by no means was it less pleasurable. I remember vaguely Steve telling me beforehand to trust in his experience, that he will not let me fall. I was given some time before the next suspension to change before heading into the next suspension which ended with me hanging inverted for only 10 minutes but to me seemed like longer.

When I look at the photos I view them with a smile. It was Saitoh san’s suggestion really. He saw the platform gothic boots I wore when I arrived and suggested I wear those whilst suspended. I had nothing else, so wore that black shirt I arrived in.

I was quite unprepared for the pain of the rope around my hips whilst hanging there inverted. Instead of allowing fear to overwhelm me, I focused on that energy and channeled it back inside myself, and after that I just wanted to hang there for an eternity.

It was first decided to spray me with water for the shoot. Then as the shoot wore on it just became impractical to keep spraying me with water, so towards the end the whole bottle was poured over my head. It was an unusually hot evening in Tokyo and I could feel the cold water run down my body and legs and into my boots.

The whole shoot was prompted by the occasion rather than planned in advance, and it was beautiful. It was meant to be messy, disorganised, chaotic – the photos of me in the rope towards the end were wild, raw and haphazard.

Steve san pulled those ropes roughly across me, over and over pinning me to the pole. He knew I was exhausted, I just closed my eyes at times and waited for it to be over but I knew it wasn’t over until he decided to let me go. There is something beautiful about suffering; it reminds you that you still exist in this world.

斉藤芳樹 - 長田スティーブ写真撮影 2011年5月 (東京 日本)

長田スティーブによる 真光 セイバーの 縛りは 斉藤芳樹により撮影された。

斉藤芳樹氏は コマーシャルフォトグラファとして広告代理店に勤務。 斉藤芳樹氏は『明智』と題して、展覧会を開催し また縛りの師範『である』明智伝鬼氏の縛り作品をフィーチャー同じタイトルで本を出版した。

長田スティーブ氏は 彼の作品がワイヤード、ヴォーグ、 SMスナイパーや他の多くの雑誌などに掲載されている別の縄師である。 彼は寝技の技術を学ぶ為雪村春樹氏の下で訓練を始めた。