Carnie Marnie shows her stuff at Loplops

Illustrated Women: A Collection of Works by Carnie Marnie officially opened at Loplops Gallery-Lounge Thursday, April 17 and will remain on display until Wednesday, May 7.

Born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Marnie's work is primarily ink on skin, but also includes printmaking, serigraph, watercolour and enamel on wood.

Working as a full-time tattoo artist, the Sault's own painted woman now splits her time between Austin, Texas and Geneva, Switzerland.

This show features a variety of hand-painted prints adorned with tattoo-inspired imagery and two of Marnie's highly sought after customized toilet seats.

Her work can be found on bodies and in washrooms around the world.

This is her first solo show in Sault Ste. Marie and is dedicated to Krista Comfort, Lindsay Pugh, Helen Stortini, Paul Mounter, Nico Cennamo and her Mother, Dianne Holt.

Artist Statement

Illustrated Women is a two-fold reference to myself as an artist and the images with which I choose to express myself.

In essence, these are illustrations of women done by a woman with illustrations on her skin.

It is also a nod to The Illustrated Man (1951); a work of science fiction by Ray Bradbury which helped to bring tattoos into popular culture.

Tattoo imagery includes an extensive range of subjects and styles from around the world and throughout time.

Prevalent examples include a myriad of imagery such as ships, anchors, hearts, daggers, flora and fauna, etc.

All of my work is inspired by the tattoo aesthetic and I am constantly striving to further my own vision and rendering within this field.

Under the umbrella of tattoos, I continuously revisit two themes; carnival and pinup art.

Bearded ladies and pinups, or cameos, feature prominently and are both personal subjects of intrigue.

The idea of being a woman in a man's world is central to my own experience as the tattoo industry has always been a male dominated field.

The bearded lady embodies this concept visually and is also a reference to the carnival - a place and experience that helped to popularize tattoos in the west.

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