Dan Carabas on Shibari, Sculpture, and Transformation. Originally featured in Séparée Magazine and KISSED Magazine
Over the past years, my work has shifted from photography toward sculpture and live performance, using plaster and Shibari rope to create three-dimensional imprints of the human body. What began as a visual exploration has become an embodied practice, that deals with transformation, presence, and the fleeting nature of form. This text brings together thoughts and experiences from my journey, originally shared in an interview featured in Séparée Magazine and later in the English edition KISSED Magazine.
My work current work moves between photography, sculpture, and live performance. Over the past years, I have increasingly focused on combining plaster and Shibari rope to create three-dimensional body imprints — sculptural forms that emerge directly from the human body and preserve a fleeting moment of transformation.
I originally trained as a fashion photographer in Vienna, Paris, NYC, and spent many years working internationally before settling in Berlin, where I directed commercial projects and gradually expanded my artistic practice. During the Covid lockdown, I made a conscious decision to pause commissioned work and dedicate myself fully to art. That period became a turning point: I began exploring the body not only as a subject to be photographed, but as material in itself.
My early experiments in January 2022 involved shaping the body with fabric and rope techniques derived from Japanese Shibari, photographing these temporary forms, and transferring them onto large wooden panels. The process was intentionally transient — the sculpture existed only for a moment, while the image preserved its trace.
In 2024, after encountering the plaster works of Hans Josephsohn at an exhibition in Switzerland, I felt compelled to take the next step. The physical presence and immediacy of his work resonated deeply with my own research. Back in Berlin, I began experimenting with plaster directly on the body, using rope both as a structural element and as a symbolic language. This exploration led to my first fully realized plaster sculpture, which I presented during Berlin Art Week 2024. The response — both from visitors and curators — confirmed that this direction held real potential.
The creation process itself is central to the work. During live performances, ropes are applied to the body to hold layers of plaster in place. As the material hardens, the relationship subtly reverses: the plaster begins to hold the rope. After roughly fifteen minutes, the sculpture is released by cutting the ropes, leaving behind a solid imprint of the body’s form. Photographing the sculpture shortly after its creation, while it is still present on the body, remains an essential part of the process.
These performances usually last about an hour and are often described as sensual, meditative, and immersive. When I work, I enter a state of deep focus and lose awareness of what is happening around me. This performative approach has allowed me to present my work in very different contexts — from intimate gallery settings to large-scale events and clubs such as the KitKatClub Berlin.
In February 2025, I collaborated with fashion designer Jean Gritsfeldt during Berlin Fashion Week, creating a live sculpture of his body as part of the runway show. The finished cast was revealed immediately on site. I am particularly drawn to this immediacy — the fact that the work comes into existence in front of an audience and is present the moment it is released from the body.
For me, sculpture is never just a finished object. It is an experience — for the model, the audience, and eventually the collector. Finished plaster casts are painted and sealed, sometimes enhanced with colored acrylics or gold leaf, and offered as unique artworks. I am not interested in anatomical perfection. Each sculpture is abstract by nature, shaped by the moment of its creation. The aim is not to reproduce a body exactly, but to convey sensation, form, and presence.
I often say: “Your body is the most unique artwork you own.”
This idea has led me to create sculptures not only for exhibitions, but also for private collectors who want to leave behind a physical imprint of themselves rather than owning an image of someone else.
Shibari plays a central role in all of this, both artistically and philosophically. I became involved with the practice after moving to Berlin and quickly connected with its international community — a global network rooted in trust, technique, and embodied experience. In March 2024, I founded Shibari Studio Berlin, which functions both as my art studio and as a space for teaching and exchange.
Alongside exhibitions and performances, I offer workshops — particularly for couples — known as Tantric Shibari Exploration Evenings. In these settings, rope becomes a tool for connection, relaxation, and exploration. Applied with care, Shibari can create deep physical release, similar to pressure-point massage. It invites people to slow down, breathe, and let go. Part of my mission is to move Shibari beyond its often misunderstood reputation and to highlight its meditative, intimate, and transformative qualities.
Whether through sculpture, photography, live performance, or guided Shibari experiences, my work centers on intimacy, presence, and embodied transformation. Across ever-changing contexts, I aim to create spaces where people can encounter themselves — and each other — in a deeper, more conscious way.
This text is based on an interview originally published in Séparée Magazine and later in the English edition KISSED.
Experience Shibari in a guided setting.
Presense
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Polarity
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Connection
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Small group of max. 4 couples
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A guided intimacy practice in Berlin-Mitte
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Presense • Polarity • Connection • Small group of max. 4 couples • A guided intimacy practice in Berlin-Mitte •
See the full making-of video with Sophia Thiel and step inside the sculptural process as it unfolds on the body.
