Steven Speliotis, Asia Bondage

Several dozen Asian women -- well-educated, independent, liberated, experimentally-minded, and familiar with the stereotype of the submissive Asian female -- volunteered to participate in this highly- stylized fine art. In these photographic images by a non-Asian male, they appear elegantly nude and often intricately bound, often not just participating consensually but actually controlling the scenario, and thus the imagery, while ostensibly surrendering all power to another. These images are * a collaborative form of body art * exemplify the traditional values of classic creative studio photography -- formal exploration, spatial drama, nuanced lighting, concern with chiaroscuro, attention to textural detail These unusual partnerships succeed, the photos a microcosm in which they move through and past stereotypes into a zone of unexpected freedom and mutual empowerment. With an introduction by A.D. Coleman