This show has been a long time coming. Perhaps a lifetime.
The thought came to do a series of ‘Pussy Portraits’ when, decades ago, art representations of a penis became a thing. That thought was a response and an attempt to celebrate the female body. But now, this show is much more relevant as it represents women stepping out of the shadows and fully into themselves.
Opening reception will be July 12th 6pm - 10pm.
Other days to see the show on July: 16th, 23rd, 30th, 31st, Aug: 5th, 6th 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Closing reception August 9th 6pm - 10pm.
We all know what a penis looks like. But an image of the vulva/vagina hits differently. It is deeply taboo. A photograph of a vulva is much more shocking than one of a penis and in a very different way. Just the word itself, saying it out loud feels shameful. Yet vulva, or more accurately vagina, is the source of life as we know it. You can not escape this earth without having entered it through the vagina.
For clarity, ‘vulva’ and ‘vagina’ are often used interchangeably but they are two different things. The vulva is the organ that encompasses all the external female genitalia, including the vagina. The vagina is the canal that reaches from the uterus to the world, aka, the birth canal.
We (women/females) are intimately aware of them, but not many know what they look like. Not knowing goes much deeper than covering them for modesty. How many women know what their vulva really looks like? But we do know what we are ‘supposed’ to look like. And this visual ideology is perversely fed to us by the world of porn industry. This contradiction has created an inner battle of confusion and comparison to unrealistic expectations that leaves us with feelings of inadequacy and shame.
Women have constantly been equated with the fertility purpose in life. But “Women”, “Females” are much more than the sexual reproductive organ they possess. Yet that organ is historically ignored. We live in a patriarchal society, so it’s not that much of a stretch that the vulva has taken a back seat as far as something that is honored or understood.
Polite society teaches us to look away from the vagina, to avert your eyes. But, after centuries of looking away, we lost sight of its real beauty and inherent strength and power. Showing images of vulvas feels like its undoing centuries of oppressive gazes, from ourselves and others.
The vulvas in this show are ‘as is’. They are vulvas in all different stages of life.
Amber O'Donnell has a love for erotic art and captures real life images with a sense of rawness and intimacy. Themes of strength and vulnerability run through her work highlighting both, the frailty and power of the human form.
On the eve of her last photography exhibit, 10 years ago, she endured a near-fatal car crash, as though some invisible force of nature wanted to stamp out her ability to create.
These works, her first solo show she's exhibited since that catastrophic night, intend to resurrect that visual dialog, informed with the maturity and strength demanded of her on the journey to recovery.
Opening reception will be July 12th 6pm - 10pm.
You can see the show on July: 16th, 23rd, 30th, 31st, Aug: 5th, 6th 5.30pm - 8.30pm
Closing reception August 9th 6pm - 10pm.