Caritia is a British born queer womxn of colour whose creativity runs through connection to energies, ritual and bodies. She creates art and altered states through the body and ropes. She has been praciticing shibari for 10+ years as a rigger and occasionally as a model.

Ceci Ferox is a sexologist, kink activist, and rope nerd from Helsinki, Finland. They have been organizing rope events and teaching shibari since 2014.

Ceci teaches japanese rope bondage from top, bottom and switch perspectives. They like to focus on elements of technique and communication rather than patterns and sequences. They draw on their expertise as a community educator to bring people together.

“My goal is to create safer spaces for people to communicate through rope.”

Ceci’s tying is influenced by traditional Japanese styles as well as contemporary western organic and artistic tying. They fluctuate between hyper-technical and chaotic tying, but have a constant focus on connection and communication. Ceci’s ties is created in the moment, inspired by each situation and partner.

“Rope for me is a medium for meditation, empowerment, intimacy, and sexy times. It is also about continuous learning and wonder.”

I was first introduced to shibari in 2007 and have been immersed in it ever since.
My interest was initially sparked by the aesthetic of shibari; the seemingly organic structure of rope melding with flesh in the works of Araki, and other artists whose works I had collected in scraps from the few Japanese publications available.

As I began to practice it myself I also found an interest in exploring the potential of ropes to open up new ways to connect with the body, with other people, and the effects of pushing myself into seemingly ‘extreme’ psychological and physical states.

I began using shibari in performance in around 2009 and gradually developed an interest in impermanent structures, and the fragile balances found between us, our environment, and within intimate connections.

Although I see shibari very much as an art form, it is also important to me that it’s roots in pornography are not glossed over; I see it also as a powerful way of reconciling any perceived conflict between art and sex and exploring the relationship between the two.

Xa Na is an Italian woman who decided to move to Berlin some years ago to have the possibility to go deeper and do research about BDSM and its connections to bodywork.

She practiced Shiatsu and Aikido for many years and these disciplines gave her a taste of the Japanese way to work with energy.

Her first love in BDSM has been and still is bondage.

Since she arrived in Berlin she has improved her knowledge of bondage through constant practice in the world of the former Schwelle7 and at Studio 6×6. At the moment she works with bondage professionally as a prodomme at Studio Lux in Berlin and keeps her research constantly moving ahead.