Helena Calmfors "Valentine"

Helena Calmfors "Valentine" 2021Photography, instax filmDimensions 2.4 x 2.4in Unique Signed on Verso, Includes a certificate of authenticity Helena Calmfors is a Queer artist, performer, and BDSM professional based in Brooklyn. Originally from Sweden, she has worked and performed in New York since 2014. The act of creating intimate scenes and experiences is present in all aspects of her work, which ranges from watercolor paintings and digital work to performance and photography. Calmfors’ work is centered around taking control of the male gaze through the practice of femdom. She addresses the reclamation of ownership of identity and the body through the hierarchical power play that is present in BDSM, and her performances explore female domination through BDSM rituals. Calmfors uses instant photography to represent the ephemerality of performance rituals and the intimacy of the dominant/submissive relationship. Using fluid strokes of watercolor and ink in her paintings, she illuminate