Sharing vulva diversity since 2006!
Sharing vulva diversity since 2006!
Since 2011 Jamie has been working on a new, very large vulva panel that will eventually include a cast of a woman from every country and territory in the world. The concept behind this artwork is multi-layered. On one level it will show that women around the world are united in combating the rise in unnecessary labiaplasties. The cost of trimming your labia in the USA is more than people in some other countries earn in a year. It’s a bonkers world. Whilst women in some parts of the world are wondering how they will eat and feed their children that day, in other places women are wondering if their genitals are pretty. This artwork also has the deeper political purpose of demonstrating to everybody how many different nations there are. This artwork will be a mark of defiance from women from countries that seek to oppress their sexuality and their freedoms. It will give a voice to women from some countries who’s very identity is not recognised by local regimes or the world as a whole.
Which country one is from can be a tricky question to answer. Are we from the place we were born, the place we grew up, the place we live now or the place our parents came from? That is for the individual to decide. Our personal identities are tied up with nationhood. It is a basic human need to belong. The world map in constantly shifting and national boundaries are being redrawn. Countries are being created, renamed, merged, divided and lost. In those shifting sands how can one be secure in a national identity? Is it a good idea anyway?
In bright pink below is a list of countries of the world that are not yet cast as of our last update. The darker pink ones are done. If you’d like to get involved, please message us by clicking on your country. You’ll need to be able to visit our studios in the UK or Florida to be cast. (If you are USA based please consider our American Pie vulva project as well!) Or you may be somewhere Jamie will be travelling so it is worth asking. As all his projects are self-funded, sadly as there is no budget for Jamie to fly to every country (fun as that would be!). But he does of course travel to different countries and will be posting on the his artist page when and where. If you are determined to be the one to represent your country before it is taken, but you cannot get to the UK, Jamie can travel to cast you, if at all possible, at your expense. You may choose to make use of it as a marketing exercise in which Jamie is happy to cooperate. Art has to be made somehow!
To send us an email enquiry about being a vulva model, click on your country or territory from the list below. If your country is already cast please consider modelling for another of our genital casting projects.
‘Mondcivitano’ was the name of a peace boat Jamie crewed as an intrepid teenager in the 1980s. It means ‘Citizen of the World’ in Esperanto, a world language conceived to bring us all closer together. Under Capt. Scott Herrick, they sailed the high seas, spreading their belief in world citizenship and issuing World Citizen Passports to anybody who would take one.
They flew the rainbow flag. Not because the captain was gay (it wasn’t being used like that at the time) but as a symbol of the colours of all the flags in the world combined.
We are all citizens of the world, first and foremost. That experience of grass roots political action changed the course of his life. Following up with a degree in experimental art led to his development into a sociopolitical artist. Direct action through art is a powerful word. A picture is worth a thousand words. Increasingly we must learn to stand united. Perhaps a small artwork like this can make a large statement.
