by Leland Carina

Kink.com model Chloe Camilla performs super hot BDSM performance art all over San Francisco. I got a chance to catch up with her and ask some questions about it.

Leland: What came first for you: shooting porn or BDSM/erotic performance art? Did one lead to the other?

Chloe: I've been making art that pushes boundaries (sexual and political and more) since college, but it's only since performing in BDSM porn and moving to San Francisco that I've been creating live performance art that uses bondage, play piercing, hardcore sex, and other kinky bits. Shooting at kink.com connected me to all these talented artists who are also interested in BDSM, and that's really inspired me to make this art. This level of creativity wouldn't be possible without access to such fabulous collaborators who also want to push the boundaries of art and sex.

Leland: Please describe a few different BDSM/erotic performance art pieces to give us an idea of what they entail.

Chloe: In 2011 I did a performance entitled Seduction Through Destruction, a play piercing and suspension bondage performance inspired by the Black Swan film. For this performance, Leland Carina (you might remember?) pierced me with 18 gauge needles that had feathers glued to the ends, creating the most amazing set of black wings. I removed the needles, like Natalie Portman pulling feathers out of her skin in the film, and then Lilac Wine suspended me with rope. After a short in-air “ballet”, I punctured a hidden blood pack under my leotard and bled to death while hanging from the ceiling. I've been performing professionally for over a decade, and I've almost never seen an audience so enraptured. There was that energetic hush over the room that is so magical.

At the Velvet queer play party at Mission Control I did a solo performance called Vanity. I was inspired by the Lady Gaga song of the same name. It has hilarious lyrics like “Nothin’ wrong with being just a little bit vain/ We need a little pretty 'cause this country’s insane/ So go ahead and label me whatever you like/ But nothing's quite as sexy as a woman is fine.” It's a parody of narcissism, sure, but I think also a complicated meditation on self-love and self-desire as an empowered sexual female. Sometimes objectification is actually about the object (discussions of “the male gaze” often ignore this) – about the feeling of being desired, rather than about the one who is doing the desiring or even a fulfillment of that desire. Anyway, for this performance I used beauty products in all sorts of sexy ways, culminating by fucking myself with a hand mirror while staring in it. Haha. It was pretty silly.

Fivestar (a production employee at Kink.com) and I performed at the recent Art of Restraint, a benefit for Femina Potens, which had a “speakeasy” theme. She strung me up in rope suspension bondage like a human chandelier and then hung champagne glasses off of me in every direction. She filled them and pretty well covered me in the bubbles. It looked and sounded so enchanting – the champagne glasses clinking like wind chimes and reflecting the light like prisms. Then, guests got to cut the champagne glasses off and drink them! Everyone commented on the rapport we had throughout the performance, the fun we were obviously having, the clear and constant communication during the piece. We had a great time playing with the lightness, joy, and experimentation that can be bondage art. Bondage can be so many things, and I love showcasing the different sides of it!

Leland: What was your most challenging performance? Tell us about it and what made it difficult?



Chloe: I shot this incredible music video for IFYW Productions (a joint venture of one current and one former kink.com employee). I was in a prosthetic mask completely covering my eyes and nose for pretty much an entire day. I'm into sensory deprivation, but doing it for that long was an enormous test of my mental/emotional endurance. Then I was tied up and hung from the ceiling in rope and dancing/spasming for something like four hours, with only small breaks. For you bondage novices – that is seriously hard work. Holy shit did my body hurt the next day!! I had some beautiful bruises from the rope, too. That shoot was a harder test of psychical and psychological endurance than any kink.com shoot I've ever done. But, wow, the video looks stunning, and it was one of the most rewarding creative collaborations I've ever done. Good thing I'm a masochist and love a challenge! Plus I respect Orlando and Josh so much, so I was honored to be a part of their creative work.

Leland: What other Kink.com models, employees, and local community members have you worked with in your performance art?

Chloe: I've worked with several lovely kink.com models. Rain DeGrey is an amazing rigger, and I've worked with her many times. Lilac Wine, who can frequently be seen on the Upper Floor, is always the picture of grace in performance! Fivestar is one of my favorite collaborators – we always come up with fun and innovative new pieces together. And she's just a serious rockstar with rope. Danni Daniels and I also did a wild performance involving lots of body paint on the Upper Floor that was by far the most performance art-y piece I've ever done for Kink.com. She's quite an innovator, not to mention stunningly gorgeous.

Leland: Do you have any plans for new upcoming work that you would be willing to share?­

Chloe: I'm looking for the right venue to do an erotic horror piece I've been scheming. It'll be a mishmash of the Exorcist movie, quotes from Kink.com members saying I remind them of the film (haha!), crazy emails I've received claiming I've been possessed by a demon (why else would one perform in porn?), soundbites or video from some of my Kink shoots, fake blood, and more!

Leland: If someone has an event that they would like you to perform at, how can they get in contact with you?

They can find me on my website. I'm always looking for more opportunities to perform!  

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Leland Carina is a Graphic Designer at Kink.com. She's also very active in the local sex-positive community; she is a Senior Correspondent for Leatherati.com, Editor in Chief of Leatherpage.com, Founder of the current San Francisco girls of Leather, and an Organizational Representative on the Board of the San Francisco Bay Area Leather Alliance.