Garth Knight
Garth Knight is a famous Australian artist. His creations, performances, and photographs offer a unique explorations of the human body. Garth began his career in 1999, after he graduated with a diploma in Photography. Later, he had an encounter with a BDSM Shibari performance. For Garth, watching a Shibari scene for the first time was a revelation. It inspired him to learn and practice Shibari. Now he is famous for combining his background of photography with his love of sculptural shibari rope work.
In Contemporary Art, erotism, especially in women, has become more prevalent in the art world. Although Shibari, as a type of BDSM, is not something that you could think of as a “fine art”, there are many artists that include Shibari in their works. Thanks to the amazing scenes and photographs they present, they give a visual form to taboo aspects of sexuality.
Garth Knight makes art focused on the body and on what the body means. For Garth, Shibari is the perfect scenery to express art. The aesthetic of the Shibari scene comes from the beauty of the subject combined with the rope work, but the mood and ambience through the exchange of power and trust in the scene play an important role.
Garth’s sculptures combine components of the natural with the manipulated features of rope. He is one of the most recognized Shibari artist, which uses Shibari not as a BDSM type, but as a form of art.
Garth Knight series takes many days to be produced, normally weeks or months, and each photoshoot can take hours. Each one of the series shows further development in the sculpture, with different models positioned in different configurations. Although each image is an extension of the last, they individually tell their own story through the pose, tie, and amount of detail obtained by layering the rope.
In sum, Garth Knight’s artistic voyage transcends boundaries, fusing the ethereal allure of Shibari with sculptural finesse. His work serves as a testament to the boundless potential of art to explore and express the complex dimensions of humanity.
