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Work Samples

disability + bdsm

disability + bdsm. Acrylic on canvas. 30’’ x 40’’. 2020. [ Image Description: 4 canvases, each split into 4 squares, have colorful backgrounds that are either red, pink, purple or blue. Each square has either a BDSM object such as a toy, garment, whip, etc and the diagonal square has a disability-related item such as needles, canes, or other aids. ]

Migraine

Migraine. Digital Photograph. 10'' x 13''. 2020. [ Image Description: A self-portrait photograph of the artist wrapping and pulling a white cloth around their eyes to visually represent a migraine. Their mouth is open to suggest screaming. They are white, bald, have a septum piercing and are also wearing a black BDSM collar. ]

I haven't been touched in years

I haven't been touched in years. Sculpture, plaster, and assemblage. 2021. [ Image Description: A sculptural piece with a chair base. It has two legs protruding out, bent. Sticking up from the top of the chair is a lampshade with no bulb or pull string on a metal bar. The metal bar is attached with purple bondage rope. On the seat of the chair is a purple vibrator and a wire charger that is unplugged. Originally, one of the chair legs was found broken, and has now been painted and re-attached, referencing a prosthetic. ]

Where You End and I Begin

Where You End and I Begin. Digital Photograph. 10'' x 13''. 2020. [ Image Description: a photograph of two people intertwined, featuring a hunched back and three arms interlocking. It is difficult to tell whose arm belongs to who, and it is also difficult to tell where one person's body ends and where the others' begins. ]

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About Ruby

Baltimore County

Ruby Bassford's picture
Ruby is a non-binary, queer and disabled artist residing in the Towson area. They would consider themselves many fragments, all that mold into a fleshy sculpture: mad, kinky demi-sexual, survivor, poet, and someone who is living with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression. Their art challenges social issues surrounding disability, sex, and identity. Ruby works in multiple mediums depending on what fits the conceptual message best, including mixed-media paintings, photography, sculpture... more
View Ruby's Resume

disability + bdsm

artist statement

conglomerates of needles + whips, ventilators + sex toys, blur the lines of where disability care ends and sex begins. pieces of surreal body parts, unidentifiable skin fragments, appendages, and sensual images blend together the fluidity of sexuality, the changing, moving body and fluidity of gender. bedroom colors and BDSM aesthetics reclaim this queer, trans, and disabled body’s sexual agency, autonomy and births pleasure from pain, whether masochism or finding joy and taking up space despite the social structures that does not want it to exist.

  • disability + bdsm

    4 canvases, each 14 1/2’’h x 19 1/2’’w. Total dimensions: 30’’h x 40’’w. Acrylic on canvas. 2020. [ Image Description: 4 canvases, each split into 4 squares, have colorful backgrounds that are either red, pink, purple or blue. Each square has either a BDSM object such as a toy, garment, whip, etc and the diagonal square has a disability-related item such as needles, canes, or other aids. ]

  • disability + bdsm 1

    Acrylic painting of four panels, each with an object that relates to disability or BDSM painted on top.
    Acrylic. 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. 2020. [ Image Description: A canvas is divided into four colorful squares, and in each are something that relates to sex, BDSM and/or disability. The first square is baby pink with a purple gagball. The second square has a dark blue background with light baby pink pet/kitten ears and a pink hearing aid. The third square is red with a lacy, maroon bra. The fourth square is a light purple background and a gray CPAP machine painted overtop. ]

  • disability + bdsm 2

    Acrylic painting of four panels, each with an object that relates to disability or BDSM painted on top.
    Acrylic. 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. 2020. [ Image Description: The canvas is split into four sections, each with a different color and object relating to sex, BDSM and/or disability. The first square is a purple background with four EKG stickers and color cords (red, blue, green and yellow.) The second panel has a light blue background with gray and multicolored fidget toys, such as a fidget spinner and fidget cube. The third panel has a baby pink background with a purple vibrator and red sex dice. The fourth panel has a red background and pink bondage rope as well as silver nipple clamps. ]

  • disability + bdsm 3

    Acrylic painting of four panels, each with an object that relates to disability or BDSM painted on top.
    Acrylic. 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. 2020. [ Image Description: The canvas is split into four colorful sections and each have an object that relates to sex, BDSM, and/or disability. The first panel is light blue with a butterfly needle and tubes of blood. The second panel has a red background and shows a close up of a blue cane with a black handle. The third panel is purple and has black whips and crops. The fourth panel is baby pink and depicts a purple butt plug and a glass, pink heart shaped dildo. ]

  • disability + bdsm 4

    Acrylic painting of four panels, each with an object that relates to disability or BDSM painted on top.
    Acrylic. 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 in. 2020. [ Image Description: The canvas is split into four sections, each with an object that relates to sex, BDSM and / or disability. The first square has a dark blue background and a light blue and white COVID-19 / doctor's face mask. The second panel is baby pink with a fluffy fox tail butt plug. The third square is dark blue with an enema and two bottles of lube. The fourth square is dark red with a black, silky mask to cover the eyes. ]

  • Everyday Things: Restraint + Routine

    Acrylic on canvas. 15 1/2’’h x 10 1/2’’ w. 2020. [ Image Description: This is a still life painting of different objects with vibrant pink, purple, green and orange colors. There are pink fuzzy handcuffs in the upper left corner, and spilled orange pill bottles with "Lexapro", "Pregablin" and "Strattera" written on them next to the handcuffs and in the bottom right corner. In the upper right corner there is a pink hand-held mirror, a green crumpled receipt, as well as open mascara and liquid eyeliner that are black.

objects

  • Table

    Digital Photograph. 13'' x 10''. 2020. [ Image Description: a black and white photograph of a person on all fours. They are wearing a table cloth over their body and face, with a black BDSM collar over top the neck to define the head. On top of their back is a wine bottle with a candle in it, as well as a plate of fruits (banana and oranges.) The background is a draped sheet. ]

  • Cup

    Digital Photograph. 10'' x 13''. 2020. [ Image Description: a black and white photograph of a close up of the bottom part of a person's face with emphasis on the mouth. Inside their mouth is a reusable straw which they are holding with their teeth. There is spit dripping out of their mouth on to their chin and chest. ]

  • Cup 2

    Digital Photograph. 13'' x 10''. 2020. [ Image Description: a black and white photograph of a close up of a person's mouth and neck. The mouth has a spit bubble overtop it and there is three lines of spit drooling down the neck. ]

concept art

  • Overdose

    Assemblage of found objects including wood piece, pill bottles, flowers, and plastic beads. 2018. [ Image Description: Two pill bottles bursting with flowers sit glued upon a wooden triangle base. One pill bottle is upright and the other is tipped on its side with beads and flowers flowing out from it. ]

  • Campus Climate

    Assemblage. 2018. [ Image Description: A pink thong hangs on a white hanger. On the panty line drops over a condom that appears bloody. ]

  • Shaving my head

    Assemblage of hair and empty Yoohoo boxes. 2018. [Image Description: To the left a pile of brown hair is shaped into a fixed mound. There are circular patterns to how the hair was molded. To the right of the hair are two empty Yoohoo cartons. One stands upright and the other is on its' side and is also crushed. ]

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