"I’m an artist, specifically a painter and a curator. I’m also a printer, but not in the way you would normally think of a printer. I don’t use a press or a plate or a stone. I print people, I print their scars and as a result, I print their stories."

--Ted Meyer

This exhibition sensitively portrays people from diverse backgrounds whose scars tell a story: artist Ted Meyer, through actual-size body prints and compelling photographic portraits, documents their experiences. Scarred for Life presents ways in which medical patients can grow to view their scars as beautiful symbols of personal resilience.

"It isn't just a scar. It's my scar" is a comment that artist Ted Meyer hears all the time. After years of doing work about his own rare illness, Meyer changed focus and decided to visually tell the stories of others who have been through major traumas. For almost twenty years Meyer has been creating powerful depictions of people’s suddenly altered bodies in a growing collection of artworks entitled, Scarred for Life. The project now consists of almost 100 artistically enhanced monoprints taken directly from the scarred skin of volunteer participants. Meyer uses water based block ink and smooth paper to capture the details. Each image—accompanied by a photo-portrait taken by Ted and a written story by his subject—tells a unique and intriguing story of medical crisis, resilience and healing.



The project’s title embodies a duality of ideas that are explored in depth: first, that medically related scars or physical disfigurements often have a profound lifelong impact on a patient’s self-identity, and secondly, that those scars have the potential to serve as powerful symbols of regeneration and life, and learning tools as well. Exploring facets of self-adornment, contemporary trends in body modification and the ways in which art has been used to redefine aesthetic norms, Scarred for Life can lead to an enlightening change of perception and acceptance of a body with all its complexities.

Ted Meyer is a nationally recognized artist, curator and patient advocate who helps patients, students and medical professionals see the positive in the worst life can offer. Ted seeks to improve patient/physician communications. Telling stories about his own art and the stories behind his scar art collection, he offers insight into living with pain, illness, and disfigurement.