How many women worry whether their bodies are 'normal'? Some women have never looked closely at their own genitals, let alone anyone else's, so the idea that their own shape is somehow bizarre looking can often take hold. Do these women realise just how varied vulvas and labia are? British sculptor Jamie McCartney hopes to change this with his piece The Great Wall of Vagina.
Described by Brighton Festival Fringe as "sculpture meets social politics and sex education", the 9 metre long work consists of 400 plaster casts of vulvas, all of them unique, arranged into ten large panels. McCartney set out to make this project as broad and inclusive as possible - the age range of the women is from 18 to 76, including mothers and daughters, identical twins, transgendered men and women as well as a woman pre- and post-natal and another one pre- and post-labiaplasty.
I first discovered The Great Wall of Vagina back in January 2009, when it was somewhat smaller than it is today. On a visit to Brighton, I spotted a frame in a gallery that contained plaster casts of female genitals and started talking to someone I assumed was the gallery owner about how fascinatingly different they all were. That person turned out to be the artist and, following that chat, a couple of months later I found myself back in Brighton to be cast and become part of a larger piece of work.
The process was simple and, like the artwork itself, not at all salacious. Once this part is complete, all of the casts become anonymous and McCartney has no way to find out who is who, so there's absolutely no point in asking which one's mine. I'm sure I won't be able to resist the urge to try and guess but, with 400 casts involved in the work, I don't think for one moment that'll be possible!
In an age of media pressure to look young and perfect, where plastic surgery is becoming the norm and pornography is often the only way most women will ever get to see other female genitals, art does have an important part to play in the way we view our bodies. McCartney said: “For many women their genital appearance is a source of anxiety and I was in a unique position to do something about that.”
The Great Wall of Vagina launch exhibition will be happening as part of the Brighton Festival Fringe until 31st May, 7 days a week, 11am-6pm.