Doctor Z

Doctor Z is a famous photographer and Shibari rigger. He’s also one of the founders of The Art of Contemporary Shibari Exhibit. Doctor Z is a professional photographer who has won several competitions and has participated in many art exhibitions. These include The Houston Art Crawl, where he won 4th place out of 383 pieces in 2012.

In 2012, a famous gallery in Houston invited him to co-produce a shibari exhibit as part of their participation in the Fotofest Biennial 2012. The Fotofest Biennial attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world to Houston. Consequently, they created the Art of Contemporary Shibari Exhibit. The Exhibit featured 151 works of Shibari art submitted by 17 international and world-class shibari riggers and photographers.

Doctor Z’s rigging style’s influences include aerialists, acrobats and performances by Cirque du Soleil. That’s why he likes to refer to his style as a “Shibari Circus”. He uses the rope to allow models to create beautiful positions that there would not be able to create without the help of rope. He loves the beautiful images with rope applied to the beautiful lines of a female body. Additionally, he believes that Shibari art requires additional skills beyond photography. It requires the model to trust the rigger in order to get a good scene. Doctor Z also makes a big emphasis on the special bond that develops between the model and rigger/photographer during and after a photo shoot.

Doctor Z’s photography is greatly appreciated and enjoyed by local and international artists, both amateur and professional. And his work has gained the respect of many people and artists. His work includes nudity and shibari rigging, but none of his work is sexually suggestive nor degrading or abusive to any of his models.

Image: Doctor Z