Tattoo Book, pg. 1 & Artist Statement

Work in progress.


Artist Statement - March 2010

I am deeply attracted to non-western or “tribal” tattoos and simultaneously I politically oppose the cultural appropriation of these designs by westerners such as myself. It is this paradox, of loving what I am politically against, that has motivated me to create a piece of art to express my complex relationship with non-western tattoos.

To do this, I started collecting images of non-western tattoos and designs, specifically images that might reveal this complex paradox. Two examples of this can be found in my final tattoo book: 1) a tattoo of two mud flap girls above a Maori design and 2) a tattoo of a three-leaf clover within a Maori design. After selecting the specific tattoos I wanted to work with I sketched the tattoos, transferred them onto copper plates, and used a combination of etching and aquatint to create the images. I then printed each copper plate and bound them together to create a book. In order to further this exploration and push it into a state of grotesqueness and beautiful obsession, I drew, painted, cut, sewed, and collaged into the book, whereupon I arrived at the Tattoo Book.

Creating this book has become a way for me to indulge in my love of these cultural appropriated designs, a way for me to give myself permission to enjoy the patterns, lines, and shapes of these tattoos within the confines of an art piece. I have given myself permission to put aside my politics for a brief moment in order to embrace the part of me that truly loves non-western tattoos for their beauty.