People

Jamie McCartney is a professional artist based in Brighton. Working largely in figurative sculpture and photographic collages, his main focus is the human body, often sociopolitical, frequently sexual, never dull. A degree in Experimental Art wasn’t the immediate road to riches he expected yet for some reason it still informs much of his practice, which leans towards narrative, provocation and absurdity. He embraces new media and actively collaborates with other artists, scientists and the public. Jamie appears frequently discussing pet subjects such as ‘Art versus Pornography’ and himself.Jamie’s iconic 2011 artwork, The Great Wall of Vagina, was first exhibited on London’s Cork Street and later at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. It has been championed as a game changer in the public understanding of normal vulvar variation. Five years in the making and entirely self-funded, it was a labour of labia love which has been consistently in the media since before it was finished. It features in several sex ed texts and is used by medical professionals the world over to reassure women and dissuade them from unnecessary cosmetic surgery. As an artwork it succeeds as a visual spectacle whilst surreptitiously educating an unsuspecting public. “Our society would benefit from a more enlightened attitude towards our sexual bodies and artists have a critical voice in that conversation. Viva la Vulvalution!”