I’ve been photographing a series of abstract yet documentary images taken in London’s disused telephone boxes. They all include fragments of tart cards – these are flyers featuring sexual services. To me they are ephemeral representations that reference the tradition of the female nude as well as 21st century notions of desire in the city.
I submitted a series of seven tart card abstracts to the Borders Art Fair, on the theme of Fragmented Identities. The work is currently being shown at the Palazzo Albrizzi-Capello in Venice. The exhibition, run by ITSLIQUID Group, runs till August 1, 2021.
When I started photographing these miniature urban landscapes I didn’t realise that tart cards have quite a cult following. There’s a fascinating article on the Wellcome Collection website by Dr. Kate Lister called Dial ‘S’ for Sex which discusses the history the tart card.