It’s not as old or as long as the Great Wall of China, but artist Jamie McCartney’s “Great Wall of Vagina” is definitely more shocking.
The English sculptor has spent the last five years working on this controversial artwork, casting plaster molds of 400 vulvas of women aged 18 to 76. The models used for the McCartney’s Great Wall of Vagina include mothers and daughters, identical twins, transgendered men and women, as well as a woman pre and post natal. He wanted to include as many possibilities as he could, and during the five years of work looked for someone who had suffered from genital mutilation to model for him, without success.
So why does someone create such a bizarre, intriguing work of art? Well, according to the artist:
Vulvas and labia are as different as a faces and many people, particularly women, don’t seem to know that… showing the variety of shapes is endlessly fascinating, empowering and comforting. For many women their genitals are a source of shame rather than pride and this piece seeks to redress the balance, showing that everyone is different and everyone is normal.
In the summer of 2008, after creating the first panel of 40 casts, he stepped back and realized his work would have to be much larger to have the kind of impact he wanted. Now, the Great Wall of Vagina is finally complete, measuring nine meters long and featuring 10 panels with 40 casts each. It’s currently on display at the Brighton Festival Fringe, in England, in case you want to see it in person.
