Jamie McCratney - Parsva Dhanurasana

Uncommon Denominator

By Jamie McCartney

What happens when your humble arts editor, philosopher, raconteur, rascal and bon viveur is involved in three group exhibitions in three months? He casts convention aside, drops the philosophy hat in the studio bin and decides to hold forth about these forthcoming events. Each is unique, worthwhile and damp with the condensing breath of the huddled masses of extremely talented artists. A twisted thread of feminism, eroticism and critical thinking weaves through all three with my work sitting both comfortably and uncomfortably across those themes. These are not my exhibitions but I am the uncommon denominator…

La Petit Mort et la Grande Hystérie – “A hysterical dramatization of the conflicts between desire and defense, license and prohibition, voyeurism and exhibition, castration and self-conservation, latent and manifest, sadism and masochistic pleasure, memory and resistance, destructive fantasy and cathartic fantasy.” Lea Virgine, Il corpo come linguaggio, Milan, 1974.

To accompany the launch of HYSTÉRIA, the new feminist magazine, Blacks club is hosting a group art exhibition exploring the connection between body and language through figurative and erotic art and text, aiming to restore the woman’s voice to the record and to produce outrage, cause and effect outside of the established norms.

Curated with a critical eye and aesthetic aplomb by Blacks’ Gabriella Daris the show features a stunning selection of international artists including the outrageous Annie Sprinkle and of course my own genital sculptures and experimental body photography. The exhibition blends beautiful and thought provoking imagery and text, exploring themes of contemporary feminism, eroticism and sex-positive humour.

Mon – Sat, from 10am to 1pm only (for non club members)
www.blacksclub.com

“The difference between naked and nude is the presence of the artist”, George Keetley.

A daring and provocative journey into art exploring all things naked. Brighton’s newest and most contemporary gallery, The Warehouse Gallery in the North Laine, will be exhibiting 6 talented artists and showcasing beautiful and exciting artwork in a variety of media. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of tantalizing, after dark, ticketed events. Artist’s talks, life drawing, body painting, naked dance and retro pinup photography will run throughout the 3 weeks of this ground breaking show. I’ll be giving a talk about art versus pornography, which I last gave at Trinity College Dublin in October.

The inspiration for the show is George Keetley who was a pinup photographer and painter who began his career in the 1960s. His work, much of it never seen before is exhibited now by his son Stan, also a photographer and also in the exhibition. Alongside these and the works of a handful of select artists I’ll be showing work from my Physical Photography series. These body portraits, created using a converted document scanner and printed up to life size, are a unique and unusual form of photography. Exhibited in Brighton for the first time they will show alongside some of my notorious sculptures.

Wed – Sun from10.30am to 5.pm. Check the website for event times.
www.thewarehousegallery.co.uk

Jamie McCartney - 100 Bras — Jamie McCartney – 100 Bras

The exhibition marks Women’s History Month and features the work of Espacio Gallery artists and guests, responding to the achievements and challenges of gender equality and women’s roles historically and in contemporary society. Curated by Renee Rilexi, fourteen artists each take a unique look at these burning issues in a show that engages, educates and entertains.

“A feminist is anyone who recognises the equality and full humanity of women and men.” Gloria Steinham

‘Time=Change” takes a sweeping historical perspective on women’s struggle for social, sexual, political and cultural equality, acknowledging the remarkable accomplishments which early feminists might not have dreamed of, whilst confronting the darker realities of the many battles not yet won.

This ‘Fourth Wave’ or contemporary feminism eschews the image of man hating and bra burning and embraces all those willing to stand up an be counted. Men are allies in the battle for equality and this show is for everyone. Themes explored include child brides, violence against women, women at war, overlooked historical figures, human trafficking, slavery, plastic surgery, aging, violence in mythology, fashion, sexuality, home making and domesticity.

Alongside works by celebrated and emerging artists, are my own artworks featuring plaster and glass casts of women’s genitals in a similar vein to the now famous Great Wall of Vagina as well as debuting a new collection of images from my Physical Photography series.

Throughout the show there will be a series of events, talks and book signings. Check the website for more details.

1-7pm Mon-Fri and 11am -7pm at weekends
www.espaciogallery.com