French kink and fetish star Axel Abysse and his frequent collaborator, Japanese Yoshi Kawasaki take the stage for a live sex show in an unusual venue.
Onstage at SNAP! festival and conference, Sex workers Narratives Arts & Politics, a “festival entirely dedicated to the discourses, representations and issues related to sex work,” Yoshi and Axel perform a fisting and sex performance followed by a discussion and a Q&A session, to address issues in making porn and fetish sex. Almost one year later, the performance and related discussions make their debut at AxelAbysse.com and YoshiKawasakiXXX.com Friday, May 5th.
Yoshi and Axel are releasing the movie now to coincide with the 2023 edition of the Snap! Festival in collaboration with the Brussels Porn Film Festival (which is also presenting Axel’s films “Vice Versa”, “Baptism” and “The Experiment”). The “One Take” video documents their performance before festival attendees, and two discussions, “Snap Talk” and “Snap Q&A” (available as bonus videos to site subscribers) round out a full virtual experience of their SNAP! conference session.
Axel recounts his experience of performing live for conference attendees.
“I’m used to performing on stage in sex clubs or fetish events such as Darklands, but this was very different. First, being asked to talk about my work, and more precisely my life as a French sex worker expatriated in Japan, was both intimidating and enriching. I rarely take the time to step back and analyze what my career or my work can mean to myself or my audience. When performing in sex clubs, my only task is to be the pig that I am and turn on the spectators who came to see fisting. Here, the audience is a mix of all genders, most people being sex workers themselves, with a curiosity but not necessarily into or experienced with fisting/extreme practices. According to the questions we were asked after the filming, what struck some people in the audience was our level of intimacy despite the intensity of the practices. That means we reached the goal I have with my movies in general, focusing on showcasing the care for one another through fisting, which most people tend to view as violent and degrading. This is why I also love that kind of performance format, for an open-minded audience that is not necessarily the main target of the usual gay fisting porn. As a pansexual myself, I want my work to be able to reach all kinds of people too.”
Partner Yoshi concurs.
“Performing at SNAP! Festival was such a breath of fresh air. The crowd there were genuinely welcoming and I really appreciated the non-judgmental atmosphere the whole festival had.”
Festival organizer Marianne Chargois was familiar with Abysse and Kawasaki’s online work and was eager to bring them aboard into the event.
“As a programmer of a pornographic festival, I discovered the films of Axel Abysse and Yoshi Kawasaki. As a fist-fucking fan, I literally felt in love with their asses. As a sex worker, I was impressed by their athletic skills. It became an obsession: I wanted to give the SNAP festival audience as well as my own inner pervert this incredible experience of watching their pornographic performance live. It was a noble goal: I had never experienced such a moment of excitement, emotion and power.”
