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Author Archives: Gemma Angel
The Tattoo Collectors: Geoff Ostling
Posted on May 1, 2013
As a researcher who specialises in the preservation of tattooed human skin, I have encountered some extraordinary things stored away in archives, museums and private collections in the course of my work. But I don’t just work with the dead … Continue reading →
Posted in Contemporary Art, Contemporary Preservations, Tattoo Iconography, The Tattoo Collectors
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Tagged art collectors, bodysuit tattoos, contemporary tattoo collecting, contemporary tattoos, eX de Medici, film, Geoff Ostling, living tattoo donors, memorials, National Gallery of Australia, preserving skin, the tattoo as art
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3 Comments
An Unfortunate Amalgam: Syphilis, Tattooing & Mercury
Posted on January 15, 2013
The late 19th century was an exciting time to be a tattooist in Europe and America. Foreign influences such as the beautiful and accomplished Japanese irezumi, combined with technological invention in the form of Samuel O’Reilly’s 1891 electric tattoo machine, … Continue reading →
Magic, Sex & Superstition: The Winged Phallus Tattoo
Posted on December 1, 2012
In January 2010, just 3 months into my PhD, I went to Paris on the first of what would be many research trips. Whilst there, I visited the anthropology department of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) with my supervisors … Continue reading →
Posted in Tattoo Iconography, Museum Collections
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Tagged preserved tattooed skin, contemporary tattoos, phallic symbolism, Musée de l'Homme, Father Liber, Fascinus, Ancient Rome, religion, winged phallus tattoo, fertility charms, iconography, sexuality, castration, witchcraft, comparative collections
The Tattoo Collectors: Film & Fiction
Posted on November 1, 2012
When I was a child, my favourite Roald Dahl story was Skin, a macabre tale about an old tattooist named Drioli, who has a magnificent work of art tattooed on his back by the famous painter Chaïm Soutine. One day … Continue reading →
From the Storage Archives: “Mort Aux Vaches!”
Posted on July 8, 2012
Science Museum Object Number A544: Preserved human skin, tattooed with a series of patterned dots and crosses; initials and lettering in French; two hearts, including one pierced by arrows; and the head and torso of a man. Dimensions: h353mm x … Continue reading →
Posted in Criminology, From the Storage Archives, Museum Collections, Tattoo Iconography
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Tagged 3 dot tattoo, amateur tattoos, criminal tattoos, human remains, L'Affaire Crainquebille, offensive tattoos, preserved tattooed skin, sailor tattoos, Science Museum, tattooed skin collection, Wellcome Collection
From the Storage Archives: The Wounded Tattoo
Posted on June 8, 2012
Science Museum Object Number A544: Preserved human skin, tattooed with a series of patterned dots and crosses; initials and lettering in French; two hearts, including one pierced by arrows; and the head and torso of a man. Dimensions: A544 h353 … Continue reading →
From the Storage Archives: The Unseen Sailors’ Tattoo
Posted on May 22, 2012
Science Museum Object Number A747 & A754: Preserved human skins, tattooed with a pair of eyes. Dimensions: A747 h137 x w88mm x d1.5mm; A754 h144mm x w86mm x d2mm* *Depth measurements are given at their thickest points. Date: c.1830-1900 Of … Continue reading →
From the Storage Archives: A Dagger Through the Heart
Posted on May 8, 2012
Science Museum Object Number A670: Preserved human skin, showing the tattooed image of a dagger piercing the skin of the chest. Dimensions: h258mm x w123mm x d0.4mm Date: c.1850-1920 The image above shows an example of the iconic dagger-through-the-heart tattoo. … Continue reading →
The Flesh Remembers: Memento Mori Tattoos
Posted on May 1, 2012
All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt. – Susan Sontag The … Continue reading →
Posted in Tattoo Iconography
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Tagged cremains in tattoo ink, human remains, images of death, memento mori, memorial tattoos, memory, photography, skin, tattoo
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1 Comment
Texture, Tactility & Tattoos
Posted on April 1, 2012
In 1786, German traveller Sophie de la Roche paid a visit to the British Museum. She later wrote about her experiences there, describing the various things that she saw, including a collection of Roman antiquities. What is particularly striking about … Continue reading →
Posted in Museum Collections, Sensory Anthropology
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Tagged human remains, phenomenology, preserved tattooed skin, skin, tactility, tattooed skin collection, texture, touch
