Although the exhibition has been compiled by the Parisian Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, our own Henk Schiffmacher is one of the most important commanders. The most famous tattoo artist in Amsterdam also made some of the tattooed arms and toros that are shown there. “Including one with signs from the prehistoric funnel cup culture,” he points out. “If the hunebed builders in Drenthe had tattoos, I think they could have looked like this.”
Pieces of skin with tattoos
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The tattoos are applied to body parts of silicone. Because showing human remains is sensitive nowadays. Until the 20th century, pieces of skin with tattoos of deceased people were sometimes put on strong water to keep them in this way. The University Museum in Groningen has some copies in the collection. But those human remains are not shown here.
Tattoos are even older than the road to Rome. For example, there has certainly been tattooed in Europe since the copper days. Ötzi, the five centuries old ice mummy that was discovered in 1991 in the Italian Alps, had a tattoo.
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Only in the Middle Ages did drawing with ink on the skin in the spell. The church had nothing to do and forbade it. Renewed interest only came in the nineteenth century, when tattooed men and women (in addition to the ‘strong man’ and the ‘Woman with the Beard’) were among the attractions at fairs and circuses.
At the Tattoo exhibition in Groningen, the visitor makes a world trip along various cultures where tattoos play an important role. © Aldo Allession
In the meantime, 35% of working Dutch people have a tattoo, the Viking Raja calculated
Group, distributor of office supplies. The tattoo is more popular than ever. The time that it was only for sailors, criminals and prostitutes is far behind us, sees Schiffmacher. In 2022 there were already more than 2500 tattoo shops registered at the Chamber of Commerce. “The adventurous of the past is gone. It is now just nail salons. In America, even tattoos are being performed under full anesthesia. I am not in favor of that. That entails extra risks.”
Reasons for tattoo
The exhibition celebrates the tattoo as a cultural heritage and shows that there are various reasons for a tattoo in various cultures. “It can be an initiation ritual like the Maori, a Rite de Passage. It can belong to a certain religion, bringing people into contact with the world of spirits, keeping the evil at bay and thereby offer magical protection, such as the Thai Yantra. These works as a Talisman and can protect the wearer of this spiritual tattoos on Kogaage on Kogooels on Kogooels. back. “
Mourning often plays a role, says
Schiffmacher. “Having a tattoo is a good replacement of pain. People seek pain in times of great sorrow and loss to raise themselves. When the MH-17 was shot out of the sky, the next day was already in my studio to put a memory of their die dear dear.
Japanese bodysuit tattoos, photographed by Masato Sudo. © Musée de Quai Branly- Jacques Chirac
Although nowadays in the Netherlands are mainly abstract tribal tattoos popular, Schiffmacher himself loves tattoos where you immediately see what it is. “In the meantime, more people are walking around in the Netherlands with a headhneller tattoo than at the Dayaks on Borneo and in Malaysia,” he grumbles laughing. Those who want to gain inspiration can indulge themselves in Groningen. Where the future of the tattoo is, is difficult to predict, but Schiffmacher sees that artificial intelligence is also taking a flight here.
Tattoo icons Henk and Louise Schiffmacher: “People do but what, nobody thinks about it anymore that a tattoo is permanent?”
“More and more designs are being made with AI. As a result, hyper-realistic drawings can be made through a kind of ‘everyone-Kan-painting-of-ravensburger’ principle. For me that is not necessary. I like the personal handwriting, the small rag edge or mistake of the tattoo artist, making it to be what was made by a person with a.”
