The Sum of Our Parts, a solo show by Jamie McCartney at Ground Coffee Cafe Hove : 4 Oct – 9 November 2014

Jamie McCartney -Goddess 2014

Jamie McCartney, the artist behind the infamous Great Wall of Vagina, will launch a exhibition of his new experimental photographic work as part of the Brighton Photo Fringe, and hosted by Ground Coffee Hove 4 October -9 November 2014. Details at foot of this post.

Created using an adapted document scanner as his camera, Jamie jokingly describes these artworks as the executive version of sitting on the office photocopier at the Christmas party but with an artist in charge. He takes many separate shots and then collages them to recreate the whole body. They are largely nude portraits, engaging deliberately with the inescapable topics of sex and death- that define the human condition- through their use of narrative, sexual imagery and religious symbolism.

“The Sum of Our Parts,” says Jamie, “protests against the pervasive body fascism that sickens our society. Avoiding any image manipulation or airbrushing they portray the beauty of natural bodies, shown as the Gods intended.”

Using his original technique, each photo collage can take up to two hours to shoot, placing great physical demands on both artist and model as the scanner is carefully and methodically moved over the body. The results have a painterly quality reminiscent of an old master’s ‘chiaroscuro’ modelling of the flesh.

Jamie says his “process subverts the blink-like speed of modern photography, and harks back to more primitive techniques. The potential movement of the subject is intrinsic to the image making process and is recorded in the photo like a document of the procedure. An emphatically collaborative process, this intimate photographic technique results in an honest, personal expression of his sitters’ own personalities.”

Artist Biography

“Jamie McCartney is an Brighton artist with a BFA in Experimental Studio Art from Hartford Art School, USA. With a career-long commitment to experimentation he focuses largely on the body using both traditional and novel materials. He exhibits frequently and has many worldwide collectors.

He is most famous for the 8 metre long Great Wall of Vagina made from plaster casts of 400 women’s genitals. Most recently displayed at the Triennale Museum in Milan it is seen as a hugely influential feminist artwork.

With frequent television appearances and his work constantly in magazines, Jamie has gained an international reputation as a leading voice in underground art, giving talks on the philosophy of eroticism in art versus pornography. His work is also used in numerous medical and education texts as a tool to combat body dysmorphia.”

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I'm an artist, counsellor and bodycare practitioner. I live in Brighton, England

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