Cut Me Up Issue 9: Scars and All, curated by Laurent Seljan, is a selection of 18 self-portraits that use assembling methods—tape, thread, glue, staples and pins—as expressive elements to describe each artist’s personal psychology.

Collage is the French word for “gluing.” Although glue is a means of attachment in most forms of collage, it is often hidden, creating a surreal quality. Collage can also be a metaphor for how we piece together the fragments of our lives. In our attempts to create a seamless, cohesive self, we may repress difficult emotions or conceal our flaws to create a smooth, presentable surface. But what is the real self beneath? 

The artists in Cut Me Up Issue 9: Scars and All excavate the underlying structures of their own minds, and of their collage works. They expose the inner workings and how things are held together. In the process, they reveal their personal strengths and vulnerabilities—who they really are.

Curatorial prompts for Issue 9 artists:

• Dare transparency: Describe your personality through a psychological self-portrait without using facial or anatomic elements.

• Don’t hide anything: The technique(s) you choose to join the collage together must be an apparent and important element that enhances the final composition. One example is the work of Spanish artist Manolo Millares, who creates visual tension with strings and thick materials.

• Show your complexity: Multiple layers, thickness and translucency are very welcome.

• Eligible submissions must incorporate some portion or portions of Cut Me Up: Issue 8.

Laurent Seljan’s original curatorial call for Issue 9 can be found here.

Issue 9 Cover Art:
Paola D’croz

Issue 9 Artists:
Anwar Daoud
Paola D’croz
Jennifer Gatz
Janet Gold
C.P. Harrison
Iain Machell
Chad Martinez
Janice McDonald
Kim McIver
Sara Baker Michalak
Michelle L. Miller
Quinlan Boyd-Rhodes
Gaetano Rizzi
Holly-Dale Shapiro
Lisa Sheets
Rosanne Walsh
Laura Weiler

All of the 38 response artworks made by 30 artists for Cut Me Up Issue 9: Scars and All can be found here.