'It's not vulgar, it's...'
May 28 2012
Picture: Jamie McCartney
Several of you have written in to flag up an exhibition in London's Cork Street, entitled 'The Great Wall of Vagina'. Here's the bumpf, which I reproduce without comment. But do note the last, perhaps unfortunate line:
Female genitalia have long been a source of fascination, recently of celebration but generally of confusion. Today it seems that creating images of the vagina is the sole preserve of pornographers, erotic artists and feminists. Step in British artist Jamie McCartney who has grasped the nettle to create a monumental wall sculpture all about this most intimate of places. For 400 women their privates have gone public... [...]
It’s not vulgar, it’s vulva! This isn’t just sensation, it is art with a social conscience and McCartney wants people to stop, look and listen. This is about grabbing the attention, using humour and spectacle, and then educating people about what normal women really look like. Described as “the Vagina Monologues of sculpture” this piece is intended to change the lives of women, forever. [...]
The Great Wall of Vagina makes for fascinating and revealing viewing which is a far cry from pornography. It is not erotic art. It is not about titillation. McCartney has pulled off an amazing trick - to deliberately make the sexual nonsexual and take you much deeper.