Born with hydrocephalus, collage artist Jim White’s life has been profoundly affected by surgery, medical implants, cascading diagnoses, hospitalizations and disability. His practice reenacts the trauma of having tissue surgically removed and medical augments added, but his compositions transform the violence into something smart, funny, offbeat, and playful. Images from art books are cut, torn, recombined, and pinned onto cork board creating dozens of piercings/perforations before the final composition is glued into place. By smashing together reproductions of historically important art in unexpected and often humorous ways, these small scale compositions turn art history into both personal biography and cultural critique. Nothing is sacred. Masterpieces are simply raw material waiting to be reimagined.

“In my life I have felt both as a disabled child and as an artist that I had to adjust myself for others. As a reaction to that I have turned that outwards and changed my surroundings to make sense to me.” - Jim White  

contact Jim White at: jamesearlwhite75@gmail.com