David McCarty is an artist in Jackson, Mississippi. Born in Alabama and a lifelong resident of the South, David uses instant film to attempt to preserve the fading impressions of growing up in the 1970s and 80s.
In this effort he uses primarily Polaroid cameras, shooting with a Polaroid SX-70 and a thrift store Polaroid 600. David's instant work has been featured at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in the exhibition Self-Processing—Instant Photography, in New Orleans; at the Redux Contemporary Art Center, for the AINT-BAD Instant Gratification exhibit, in Charleston; and in other juried exhibitions throughout the South. He is a member of the Due South Co-Op, and with their group exhibitions has shown work in Memphis, Tennessee; Greenville, South Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; and Zebulon, Georgia.
In 2017, David was one of the SlowExposures artists in residence through the exhibition’s annual SlowAIR program. In 2015, he co-curated the exhibition Best Before: Instant Photography by Southern Artists at the Blaylock Photography Gallery in Jackson. His Polaroid diptych “Biloxi Hotel” is in the permanent collection of the Ogden Museum.
Instagram: @gorjusjxn
Email: davidmccarty @ gmail
Selected Exhibitions / Publications / Objects
Between the Margins by Due South Co-Op, Southeast Center for Photoraphy, Greenville, South Carolina (2020)
AINT-BAD, issue no. 14 (2019)
Looking at Appalachia, for the States of Alabama (Jefferson, Hale, and Etowah Counties) and Mississippi (Lee and Tishomingo Counties) (2019)
Due South on Meridian, the Queen City, with Due South Co-Op, Mississippi Folklife (2019)
Mississippi Heritage Trust: 20th Anniversary Photo Exhibition & Auction, co-curator with Due South Co-Op, Jackson, Mississippi (2019)
Four Kinds of Y'all by Due South Co-Op, Cotton Exchange Museum, Memphis, Tennessee (2018); pop-up exhibition of FKoY at Slow Exposures, Zebulon, Georgia (2018); pop-up at the Art Lover’s Soiree in Jackson, Mississippi, hosted by Fischer Galleries (2019)
Instant Gratification by AINT-BAD, Atlanta School of Photography, Atlanta, Georgia, and Redux Contemporary Art Center, Charleston, South Carolina (2017-18)
Population 1,181, SlowExposures satellite show, Zebulon, Georgia (with Claudia Smigrod) (2017)
SlowAIR artist in residence, SlowExposures exhibition, Zebulon, Georgia (2017)
The Zebulon Show, juried by Sara Keith, at A Novel Experience, Zebulon, Georgia (2017)
No Loitering, Mississippi Folklife (2017)
Looking at Appalachia, for the State of Alabama (Jefferson County) (2016)
Politico Pop Up 2 and 3, New Orleans Art Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (2016 & 2018)
America, juried by Roger May, Light Leaked (2016)
Direct Positive, juried by Ashley Kaushinger and Jen Ervin, Light Leaked (2016)
flawed / an instant film exhibition, juried by Michael Kirchoff, A. Smith Gallery, Johnson City, Texas (2016)
Eudora Welty Pop-Up Exhibition, Eudora Welty House and Garden, Jackson, Mississippi (2016)
Southern Glossary, volumes 2 & 4 (2016-17)
Best Before: Instant Photography by Southern Artists (as co-curator and artist), Blaylock Fine Art Photography, Jackson, Mississippi (2015)
Instamatic, Don’t Take Pictures (2015)
Bloodbird, Scorcher (internal photographs) (2015)
Half Hours on Earth, Light + Glass Studio and Gallery, Jackson, Mississippi (2014)
The Perpetual Instant, juried by Grant Hamilton, Zeitgeist Multi-disciplinary Arts Center, New Orleans, Louisiana (2014)
The Delicate Cycle, self titled (interior photograph) (2014)
Left of the Dial (solo show), Light + Glass Studio and Gallery, Jackson, Mississippi (2010)
Stereo, Light + Glass Studio and Gallery, Jackson, Mississippi (2007)