Behind the Whip: Dominatrix is a series of portraits and interviews taken on location in the city and dungeon of each participating global Dominatrix by photographer Maria Coletsis. The photo essays within this book provide an intimate look at the women, their words, and the dungeons which make up this fast-growing subculture community. They discuss why they chose domination, who their clients are, the services they provide and the demand for them, and how their services uniquely represent the city in which they work. Through her friendship with a London-based Dominatrix, she met some of the world's top dommes, gained access to all parts of their lives and had many of these photographs published in the world's leading magazines and exhibited internationally. The photographs reveal an element of our culture which is manifest in the lives of these women. Coletsis invites the viewer to experience the rich and varied sexuality of a multi-racial group of strong, adventurous women. Behind the Whip offers both the aficionado and the curious observer a visual feast of unconventional, individualistic, strong women in control of their own sexuality and of those around them. It is a visual social document of contemporary attitudes towards sexuality.

Maria Coletsis works with issues concerned with identity and sexuality. Her photography explores the subculture communities within our society. Since receiving her Master’s degree from the San Francisco Art Institute, she has exhibited her artwork in galleries around the world and was recently selected by the curator of the Whitney Museum for a juried exhibition in New York and has two exhibitions included in the 2010 East London photography festival. She has had her photography published in many international magazines and newspapers and has been the featured artist for CBC Radio3 webzine. Maria continues to investigate and photograph subculture themes.

Maria Coletsis' profile page