My chapter on tattoos and ageing has just been published by Kerber Verlag in the new exhibition catalog “Grey is the New Pink – Moments of Ageing.” To learn more about the exhibition at the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt (Germany), please click HERE. To read my chapter, click HERE!
Here’s the Intro paragraph:
More often than not, mainstream media perspectives on tattoos and ageing are negative. What will you do about your tattoos when you’re 80? Won’t you regret those tattoos when you’re older? These narratives typically focus on the process of decline, the deterioration of the human canvas (i.e. sagging skin), and the loss of definition and colour of one’s tattoos over a lifetime. But rather than seeing tattooing and tattoos as an age-related impairment doomed by the natural processes of the ageing body, I think a more positive perspective is warranted – and that is the focus of this contribution. After all, tattooed skin is a personal record documenting memories of our lives and our life stories. Tattoos are marks of accomplishment and commitment, and as we age they continue to distinguish who we are as individuals. Our tattoos belong to us and no one else. Tattoos are a personal possession that cannot be taken away. In short, we come to know ourselves, our bodies, and our worlds through the tattoos we wear, and they are defining for who we are as human beings no matter how old we may be.
ENJOY!