Thought Persephone was confined to Hades? Actually, the Queen of the Damned walks freely among us in the shape of the lovely Mistress Persephone. Fans around the world hail her as a living legend of fetish, goth, and horror. She has appeared on numerous magazine covers, television shows, in books, and video. A Los Angeles area native, Persephone divides her time between two bi-coastal residences, working as a professional dominatrix in New York City, posing for photographers globally and dazzling audiences through her performance art. She conducts her sessions at Arena/Blaze and can be found online at www.mistresspersephone.net.

Too Square:You are such a multi-faceted performer, artist, and S&M player. Do any of these interests comprise a full-time job for you?

Persephone: I don't really have a full-time job. I juggle my time between performing, doing videos, modeling, domination sessions and production work. I could never do any one thing or I would die of boredom.

TS: How did you become interested in S&M, modeling, and performance art?

P: I was always interested in subcultures and believe it or not, the first time I ever learned about the Marquis De Sade was in a cheeseball horror movie called Waxwork, which I saw in my early teens. That began my lessons in sadism and in turn helped me to become aware of my fetishes, start to explore them a bit, and eventually I started to attend private play parties. Modeling and performing came years later by fluke.

TS: How does S&M reward you on a personal or emotional level?

P: It satisfies many different things. Power, control, sexual energy exchange; those are the basic needs met but it also keeps me grounded and balanced to express myself creatively through esoterica.

TS: Do you play in your private life?

P: Yes I do. I keep a small stable of personal slaves and occasionally play with subs I meet on the scene if they strike my fancy.

TS: What led you to model? Do you think that modeling empowers women?

P: I got into modeling after working in a fetish boutique and getting discovered by the owner. I don't think modeling empowers or subjugates anyone unless they allow it to. No job has that kind of power. It is what the person does with what they get out of what they do that holds empowerment. You can be a cop and live as a martyred victim or be a pro sub and be in full control of your senses. It is all relative to the person's state of mind.

TS: How did you get involved in performance art?

P: My ex-roommate Leda, who is co-owner of the dungeons of Arena Blaze, needed someone to perform with her so I volunteered several times doing shows in NYC and Philadelphia. From there I got a taste for it and did my own.

TS: What models and other pro doms do you admire and look up to?

P: In terms of models, it would be Darla Crane and Julie Strain. For doms, I would have to say Sabrina Belladonna and Ilsa Strix.

TS: As a pro dom and fetishist, you embody powerful femininity. Do you see yourself as a feminist?

P: No. I am a humanist. I encourage femininity and self-empowerment in every female and I also encourage men to feel free to live happily either as a dom or sub.

TS: Your work also extends to the small screen. How many videos have you appeared in?

P: I haven't counted lately but I think I am well into 80-something titles now for various companies.

TS: Which photographers have you worked with?

P: Quite a few, but here goes: Julie Strain, Christophe Mourthe, Justice Howard, Peter Czernich, Trevor Watson, Steve Diet Goedde, Dave Naz, Patrick Barnes, Trevor Baker, Benjamin Hoffman, Forrest Black/Amelia G, Gary and Pierre Silva, Misa Martin, Mark Miremont, Rachel Melkerson, Billy Caldwell, Eddie Mendes, Maria Baty, Jonnie Saiko-Espiritu, Octavio Arizala, Jim Thompson, Chris Taylor, Danielle Emerick, Tim Polecat, Wolfman and Lincoln. I know there are some others but I can't think of them off the top of my head. I will be working with David Perry and Danielle Bedics in the near future.

TS: Your modeling has also extended to runway work. How did your modeling for the Todd Oldham line come about?

P: The fashion industry always has a cheeky way of trying to get something for nothing, so when the Sex Museum in NYC was trying to get some funding, a charity show was set up and local fetish talent was sought in order to garner interest from the square money bags in attendance. We modeled the clothing on the floor whilst mingling with the vanilla guests, who were irritating in their ignorance and boorish in their etiquette. The MC was Shelly Mars, who was dressed as a pimp, and when she took her role a little too seriously and demanded on the mic that all the "model bitches," most of whom were pro doms who volunteered their time, get up on the stage, a large portion of us protested by removing our outfits in disgust and left.

TS: Who are your favorite musicians, artists and writers?

P: This could go on and on. Musically, I like everything from Gary Numan to Emperor to the English Dogs to Ennio Morricone and April March. My favorite artist right now is a gal from Italy named Vinylya, but I haven't done much reading this year. The last book I read was "The Art of Darkness," a book about the films of Dario Argento.

TS: There have been rumors that a Persephone action figure is in the works. Is this true?

P: It is in the most preliminary stages right now, so I am hasty to discuss it. I was approached by a sculptor to do a figure and I agreed.

TS: What do you currently have in the works?

P: I am working on a CD, a line of fetish videos, a line of vampire and horror videos, various shoots and enjoying my life.

Myriam Gurba ( tomcollins66@yahoo.com )