Community Spotlight: Kaykay
Our community is full of amazing individuals. From performers to artists to DJs to coaches and community builders, we want to share your unique stories and experiences. If you’re interested in sharing your story, please shoot an email to Simone at sokkels@gmail.com.
Art as an amalgamation of sensual contrasts creating connection
Like an ephemeral fairy tale, Kaykay’s painting captures vulnerable snapshots in time where power dynamics meet delicate purity and raw taboo. He is not an erotic artist per se but his art has a sensuality to it through his erotic eye. First and foremost he calls himself a psychedelic artist; Kaykay takes you on a journey, especially if you are already on a journey.
Maybe you have seen his pieces before, these layered ephemeral paintings in soft watercolors dripping with contrast and sparkling gold, a blend of fairies and shibari, of control and relief. He aims to portray beauty, but not the conventional kind. He plays with juxtapositions. He paints his pieces from pictures and stills but Kaykay also paints people live at rope jams and other events.
“I try to explore purity in my art. I was looking for a way to explore kink and sex, something I like, but in conventional society can be seen as taboo. I want to express it in a way that retains its rawness but also has a disarming softness and purity. Tether [a series of paintings showcasing people in different fairylike shibari positions] explores the push and pull between bondage and freedom, what it means to be bound, and what it means to find relief in the exchange of power,” says Kaykay N. Essien.
Social anxiety became a tool for connection
“My anxiety flares when I start overthinking how I am being perceived by other people. I start worrying if other people are feeling okay if they like what I said and if I am taking up space or time. It is also about empathy. It is easier to empathize with things you have experienced yourself. It can be a good observation tool for yourself to make a space where you can feel comfortable and where others can feel comfortable too. When you know people are okay the noise in your head quiets down,” he says.
When he paints people in sexually vulnerable positions, or positions with a conveyance of power dynamics, he always wants the subject to command the piece.
“I give every subject as much agency as I can within the art piece. If I am working from a live pose, I try to make sure the person is comfortable in the position they take and feels confident, powerful, and sexy in the way they are being captured and the way they look,” says Kaykay.
Doing the work
At Come Together Campout in 2022, Kaykay created a space for himself. It was 4 am, everybody was going to sleep, but Kaykay still had a lot of restless energy. Deciding to put the energy to good use, he went to the outdoor kitchen, set up his easel, put out his colors and art supplies, and started painting.
“I could pretend it was just me and my easel. When people woke up and started walking by I was there and I was in my element. I felt how I could interact with people in the way that I wanted and I felt more comfortable taking up space and doing my work,” he says.
That restless energy turned into close to 50 hours painting during the festival.
In 2023, Kaykay is excited to return better prepared and with this new mind space.
“I am looking forward to spending intentional time with people, making new connections, and enjoying the festival. Last year I was so obsessed with painting, fitting in, and being comfortable that I wasn’t fully present. I have done a lot of work getting out of my head and letting myself be myself. I am excited to open myself up to more things and let things happen,” he says.
Creating a space that’s open for all.
As someone who has been to CTC before, Kaykay feels there is an onus on people who are established to help newcomers settle in. It can be challenging to know what feels comfortable and what are normal social dynamics and interactions. He thinks of his artist space as a conversation starter and a place of ease.
“That is how I met a lot of people. My artist space is an easy space for anyone to sit down, hang out, talk about painting, or anything. A conversation can jump from color choice to the choice of color of their car and now you’re talking about road trips and suddenly you are here at CTC in a fun sexy headspace. It takes off the pressure when you come to a beautiful venue and there is so much going on that it can feel overwhelming and you can start to think about what is wrong with you for not enjoying all of it. If anyone is looking for a place to come around and just talk and feel less overwhelmed come by my easel,” he says.
You can be part of a masterpiece
At this year’s CTC, Kaykay is creating one large 7ft by 7ft painting, and he needs bodies.
“I am thinking of doing a smorgasbord of bodies and colors. This orgy of bodies that are ephemeral and air and misting into each other with parts that are solid and you can feel the push of one against the other,” he says.
If that sounds interesting, ideally Kaykay is looking for seven people to come be part of a photoshoot at CTC from which he will make a composition and paint his largest painting to date.
Check out Kaykay's other pieces on Instagram as_every_colour_illuminates
Kaykay’s art will be exhibited and auctioned at one of the biggest erotic art festivals, the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, in February, 2023.
