Immortalise Your Lady-garden for Brighton Fringe!

Ladies and gentleman: consider the vagina.

Ignored, mocked, given various inglorious nicknames (not to mention being the proud begetter of the rudest word in the English language), it has been hiding its light under a bush(el) for too long.

Now a sculptor is offering women the last chance to preserve their poonani for posterity in an artwork that actively celebrates the c*nt.

Jamie McCartney’s Design a Vagina will be composed of 200 plaster-casts of vulvas and will debut in May at the Fringe 2009.

The award-winning sculptor is still 20 vaginas short of the full collection, and is appealing for women to come forward and help complete the artwork.

While McCartney is approaching the subject in a light-hearted way, his project has a serious point to make.

McCartney said:

“For many women their vagina is a source of shame rather than pride and this piece seeks to redress the balance, showing that everyone is different and everyone is normal.

I hope this sculpture will be definitive and effective in alleviating the anxiety many women feel about their genitals, just as many men do, at the same time as being a compelling and beautiful artwork.

“The title is a play on words, commenting on the trend for surgery to create the 'perfect' designer vagina.”

The casts already taken have come from women ranging in age from 18 – 64, including transgender men and women, and the project has been featured on Channel 4 and Fiver.

The casting process is fast and painless, using safe, non toxic materials, and McCartney is keen to encourage as many women as possible to volunteer.

The final piece will only be sold to a public institution, despite interest from private collectors. The public will be able to buy ‘shares’ in the sculpture by clicking on an image of each vagina and the capital raised will go towards marketing the sculpture, with dividends being transferred to the shareholders. Limited edition prints will also be available.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Any women who would like to take part should contact Jamie McCartney at Brighton Body Casting on  07961 338 045 or info@brightonbodycasting.com. For more information on the project go to http://brightonbodycasting.com/design-a-vagina.php.