Vernissage Miah Flowers

Feminism, bodies, gender, their diversity and the beauty behind – these are important themes within Miah Flower’s work.

Miah started to make art from an early age and it eventually became for her, the way to express and release emotions. Within her journey to accept herself and figure out who she is, it was a tool to get to know her body and emotions. It allowed Miah to see herself from an artistic point of view.

About Miah Flowers artwork

Since Miah discovered shibari, she learned new ways to accept her own body using art as a tool to process her experiences. She realized that, besides the heteronormativity people might see in many scenes at first glance, there is much more queerness and body diversity in shibari then expected. However, this diversity is rarely represented in art.

With her series  „diversity in ropes“ Miah Flowers wants to show that it is possible for everybody and every body to be in ropes, to be beautiful and to be represented.

Shibari installation & performances „diversity in ropes“

Installation

The performance by Sawa complements the exhibition with three models becoming part of the display. As live installation they are going to be integrated into the venue for the duration of an hour, open to communicate and exchange, as well as embrace what diversity in ropes signifies for them. The audience is invited to interact with the models and their rigger in their respective disposition, while experience and witness consent, its fluidity and anchoring power through time and space.

Performance by: Sawa (rigger), Miah (model), Dunkle Bluete (model), Seilence.Please (model)

Gold

Drawing inspiration from the Japanese tradition of Kintsugi. Kintsugi (金継ぎ, „golden joinery“), also known as Kintsukuroi (金繕い, „golden repair“), whose philosophy treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

Each artist paints, to co-create, heal and recreate what was broken, distorted, tormented or shattered, as part of their narrative and collective ancestry, returning their collaborative joy back to body, mind and soul.

Performance by Bishop Black (model) & Caritia (rigger)

Rope meets soul

This performance lives at the intersection of shamanism and bondage, focusing on the spirit and how the mind can be set free from the body. As shaman Ron Hades will guide you to the door of your inner universe and open it for you, hold the space so you can enter and exit safely. I use the Way of Water to touch your dark emotions, and go into the shadow. Through this Way I will lead you to reproduction, creativity, movement, change and manifestation. We are repelled by pain and fear because these are an indication of separation. Pleasure opens our energy centers, whereas pain and fear close them. The Ritual will use elements from Mother Nature to pull the spirits closer to the Earth in order to reach a more open state of consciousness.

Performance by Rigger: The Son of Fire (model), Ron Hades (rigger)

Every Wednesday Caritia will be offering two 90 minutes classes on shibari inspired rope, to offer the opportunity for on going practice and improvement with your rope practice.

Basics 1 (19.00-20.30)

For Basics 1 classes Caritia will encourage participants to practice, drill and study the essential basics for tying in this beautiful rope style. Expect to cover – rope terminology, single column, double column, flute & ladder tie – principles of tension & counter tension, safety protocols, rope care & maintenance, anatomy basics, health, self & after care, one rope practice. Everyone is welcome to attend this space to learn new skills or improve previous ones

Basics 2 (20.45-22.15)

For the Basics 2 classes Caritia will dive into the fundamentals of upper body tying, wraps, wrap placement, deep exploration of anatomy and why it is important to care for each body differently, returning to drills of the basics, knots, friction, friction placement, the emotional body, why a balance of technique and connection are crucial, rope & movement. Participants will be permitted to attend this space when they have proven they can tie the basics proficiently. Each class will involve blindfolds and that participants own at least 3 ropes to attend Basics 2 classes.

Connection will be taught throughout both groups.

Engage with and enjoy the art of shibari at our mixed bondage jam. No matter your role or knowledge level, we invite you to join like-minded people for an evening of engaged and fun shibari.

Karada House offers you a lot of space in its „old stable hall“ that has a range of hanging points pre-installed. You just need to bring your ring. We also offer some spaces with pre-installed bamboo. But that is not all. For those of you who’d like to engage in the art and delicacies of floor work we have dedicated „the pink room“ solely for that purpose.

We also provide a chill-out area and drinks for you.

FAQs:

First time? No problem.

Please join us right at 7:30 pm for an introduction into the space, the jam itself and some advise as how to navigate a jam and how to engage with people.

Introverted? No problem.

Just send us a message beforehand and we will help you navigate the evening and find like-minded people to engage with.

No ropes? No problem.

We have some workshop ropes for floor work that you can borrow. We also sell ropes at Karada House.

Total newbie? No problem.

Come, join the crowd and have a drink. Get to know people and watch others tie and play.

Coming alone? No problem.

We always introduce people to each other at the introduction round at 7:30pm, so join us then to meet other people.

Welcome to our shibari (rope bondage) boot camp. In one day, Caritia will give you a concentrated introduction into bondage that will enable you to take your first steps in the art of shibari and will give you wonderful opportunities to play and explore rope on your own.

Here is what you will learn:

• rope terminology

• single and double column

• rope movement

• rope handling

• rope terminology

• health and safety aspects

• ichinawa (playing with a single rope)

What you need to know:

This boot camp is designed for beginners or people who’d like to refresh basics.

Bring your ropes, if you can. We can also provide you with workshop ropes, if you don’t have any.

You do not need to bring a partner, however you are very welcome to bring one along. And yes, everybody attending must buy a ticket as everybody learns and benefits from this course.

Want more?

The second part of this boot camp will happen on February 1st and will get you from upper body ties (takate kote) to a partial suspension. 

If you would like to proceed and learn more, you can visit our weekly Wednesday class.

Welcome to our shibari (rope bondage) boot camp. In one day, Caritia will give you a concentrated refresher into bondage that will enable you to create stable and functional upper body ties (takate kote) and allow you to move to your first partial suspension to give you wonderful opportunities to play and explore rope on your own.

Here is what you will learn:

• Arrival

• Warm Up 

• Drills – Single, Double, Tension

• Knots

• Anatomy & Nerves

• Consent & Negotiation 

• Why do we Tie? 

• Components of an Upper Body Tie

• Hierarchy of partial suspension

• What constitutes partial suspension

• Aftercare

What you need to know:

Anyone with basic previous experience can join boot camp. Anyone arriving late will receive extra duties. Teamwork is key.

Bring your ropes, a minimum of 5. We also sell ropes (please contact us in advance) to arrange your purchase.

You do not need to bring a partner, however you are very welcome to invite someone to work with you. Every participant will need to buy a ticket as every participant will learn. There is no such thing as a completely passive bottom/bunny/partner.

Want more?

If you would like to proceed and learn more, you can visit our weekly Wednesday class.

„Therapy is not the re-conduction of the sick body to normality but of Being to what is possible to be.“ – Franco Bifo Berardi

„Perhaps one day we will know that there wasn’t any art but only medicine“ –
J.M.G. Le Clèzio

Fake Therapy and Political Therapy are practices „between two persons that stimulate and reactivate the sometimes hidden capacities of anyone to heal anyone (or anything) else. [They are] autonomous of disciplinary origins and refuses expertise or any form of knowledge-authority“ and have been invented and initiated by artist Valentina Desideri, who understands them as an open source that can be and is used by many practitioners in various contexts.

It started with the attempt „to get together to make 20 min one-to-one sessions in which one person would try to ‘heal’ the other, without knowing how. Every time the roles were reversed and the last ten minutes were dedicated to describe in the most detailed manner what the ‚therapists‘ did.“ After that she developed a deck of cards with instructions that were inspired by these descriptions and which can be modified in any way imaginable. The roles of therapist and patient are arbitrary and exchangeable.

‚Fake Therapy‘ invites you to tackle problems on a personal level, while ‚Political Therapy‘ deals with structural problems „and creates the conditions to develop other languages to talk about and do politics.“

No solution, no cure is intended. The sessions are „for those who do not need, nor want, to be fixed.“ By playing with the therapeutic set-up we will rethink the concept of (self-)care and „celebrate the capacity of problems to unfold thoughts and images through touch and conversation.“