Explore the world of kink, fetish and fantasy on a journey through the erotic imagination.

Entitled Kink: Geography of the Erotic Imagination, this interactive exhibition was based on the work of Katharine Gates, author of “Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex” and founder of Gates of Heck Press.

The template for this exhibition was Gates’ highly detailed erotic roadmap, documenting ten years of research in the heretofore-uncharted world of Kink. The map served as both a metaphor and a guide. While it defined the rules and charted the edges of the unfamiliar, it also encouraged you to become a tourist. The roadmap included stops related to Leather, Bondage and Shoe Fetishes and more exotic destinations including Ponyplay, Adult Babies, Macrophilia, Sploshing, Medical Play, Mudlarking, Body Expansion and Furries.

Costumes, props, photographs, videos and original artworks, as well as recreated environments contributed to the highly interactive adults-only playground designed by Jennifer Kinon of Pentagram, which encourages museum visitors to explore and learn about the world of kink and fetish and explain how it captivates the imagination and inspires fantasy.

Handle masks and examine props and accessories, all the while learning about the larger narrative themes that bind all human eroticisms together, from the most “vanilla” to the most kinky. Bring your camera or cell phone and document your journey into this erotic wonderland. While this exhibition was guaranteed to awaken the senses, it is also designed to remind us that more often than not, fantasy itself is the most powerful means of seduction and can evoke the most powerful of sexual responses. Careful–some of the buttons you push will be your own.