“FORGET ME NOT” HELENA CALMFORS’ LIVE ART BDSM PERFORMANCE ENDS “FLORAL DISCIPLINES”

“FORGET ME NOT” HELENA CALMFORS’ LIVE ART BDSM PERFORMANCE ENDS “FLORAL DISCIPLINES”

On November 7th, The Untitled Space in Tribeca hosted the closing of “Helena Calmfors: Floral Disciplines” with a provocative and visceral live performance by the artist. Titled “Forget Me Not,” the piece merged ritual, endurance, and intimacy in a poetic finale to Calmfors’ debut solo exhibition.

As audiences gathered among the artist’s paintings and photographs, Calmfors—assisted by Hawthorne and Mistress Payne—sculpted molten candle wax upon human skin. Each drip landed with intention: an act of devotion and control, both tender and unflinching. The performance became a living painting, where the boundaries between body and artwork dissolved.

Through this ritual, Calmfors transformed wax play—a BDSM practice rooted in trust and sensation—into a meditation on vulnerability and beauty. The atmosphere pulsed with quiet tension as viewers witnessed the intersection of power and surrender, care and courage. It was an ephemeral moment that distilled the very essence of “Floral Disciplines”—the delicate balance between constraint and bloom.

The exhibition, which ran from October 23 through November 7, 2025, presented a series of watercolors, photographs, and performances exploring queer identity, eroticism, and transformation through a feminist and subversive lens. Curated by Indira Cesarine, the show marked Calmfors’ return to The Untitled Space following her participation in the gallery’s acclaimed group exhibits REBEL (2022) and UPRISE 2025: The Art of Resistance.

For those who missed the exhibition in person, artworks from “Floral Disciplines” remain available to view and collect online via Artsy.

In “Forget Me Not,” Calmfors closed her exhibition not with finality, but with ignition—leaving behind the lingering scent of wax, power, and remembrance.

View gallery of photos from the event, photography by Kiley Cacace