Pablo Aida

Writing

Rope Meditations

Session with Katiekillsyou

August 4, 2023

Pablo Aida

And some thoughts about drives

Read the original on Substack →

Summer in Japan is quite hot and humid. The sound of the cicadas permeates the air and the light feels dense, almost solid.

I few weeks ago Katie, or Katiekillsyou as she goes by, posted on her Instagram page saying that she would be traveling to Japan in July. Immediately I wrote her a message and asked her if she would like to have a shoot together. She was in Tokyo on a very short trip and only a couple of days were available. I was also quite busy so we ended up meeting early in the morning. It was Saturday, and as I mentioned, it was very bright and very warm.

Usually, before I do a shooting like this I like to arrange a video call to work on a concept or to just talk about what will happen and make sure everybody is on the same page. In this case, it was all quite fast-paced, so we just exchanged a few messages: simple, no kimono, mostly pink.

It was reasonable, efficient! She arrived at the studio at 8 am, actually a good time to escape the unforgiving Japanese sun. The first thing she said is that she just had a tattoo. She arrived in Japan only a couple of days before and it was clear she was not wasting time. The tattoo under her belly bottom was still covered with a protective film, a pink barbed wire, following the concept: simple, no kimono, mostly pink.

After she finished putting on her makeup (a process that went also very fast) we started tying.

There are many ways to have a Shibari photo session. When I tie with people new to ropes, it is helpful to have a first interaction separated from the camera. Taking pictures while tying is fine. As a photographer, you can create a strong point of contact through the lens. I sometimes feel a magnet between my eyes and the eyes of the model, all going through the visor of the camera. However, when there is a camera involved, the intention is clear: to produce an image, to leave a trace, and I think Shibari's most radical power is to bring us back to our bodies, to forget our goals, to help us ground, to reach a state similar to the one we achieve when we practice mindfulness. And for that, cameras may be distracting.

But Katie was not new to ropes, and preambles were not necessary. Similar to experienced meditators, we were able to get into the "rope zone" quite fast. Everything was as smooth as expected.

We had three shootings in total. That means three progressions with rope, or three scenes. It was in between those that we could talk, and it was then that I got to know her better. She was traveling in Japan to promote her modeling work, shooting with different photographers and paving her way into Tokyo (which, by the way, I cannot wait for it to happen). This is where her energy was coming from. She had a mission. She had a purpose.

I was thinking about the contrast between professional and non professional models, what it means to be professional. I realized depending on the context professional may have bad connotations. It may be like this because we oppose it to passion. We do things professionally rather than for fun. We progress in our careers in parallel that we pursue our hobbies, hobbies that don't need to progress at all, don't need to be pursued. When you put like this, you could almost say we live despite our professions.

But put in this way is pitiful, and just narrow. It, of course, has a good side. We are professional when we are so good that we can live out of it. We are professional when we can overcome any obstacles, when we do what needs to be done. When we meet for a photo shooting with a stranger at 8 am, and we make it on time, even if we are jet-lagged and we just got a pink tattoo on the day before.

And Katie was professional. Shooting was so smooth it almost felt like she was shooting the pictures herself. She felt relaxed, natural, fixed to the lens, changing poses with the sound of the shutter. Later on, editing the pictures, I was surprised how many were good shoots.

In the end, passion or profession, I don't think matters so much. In fact this is a contrast that doesn't feel right. It is tempting to say that when our passions and professions align, we can do anything. And it is tempting because it resonates with the narrative of finding your true self, finding your purpose. I don't think this is the case. It is not for me. I do what I do, and one of the reasons is to discover why.


At the end we also talked about LA and her rope practice there. She told me she often ties with a Shibari artist I've been following for few years now, DK Blackfish, and in fact, that she doesn't tie with many others. Suddenly I became aware of the trust she had given me, altogether casually, and that she had shared her tremendous energy and motivation to create. Shibari is actually very special. There I was, with a person I just met, feeling incredible grateful and sincerely hoping for her career in Japan to grow. And its connective power seems to be transitive. After she left the studio, I messaged DK Blackfish, and it was almost as if the ropes had crossed the ocean and connected us.

Thank you very much for your attention,
Pablo Shibari