On the seventh day, while creation rests, humanity experiments with expression—mating, shooting, rhythm, dance, painting, and body art on cave walls. That swift pulse of invention mirrors Genesis in this fictional rendering. The oldest tattoos trace back about 4500 years, with Ötzi the Iceman standing as a famous example preserved in Alpine ice.
The impulse to decorate the body in permanent ink, to mark ownership of parts or simply to make a statement, travels far and wide. The exhibition on tattooing, curated by Anne Richard and shown at CaixaForum until 28 August, explores art under the skin from an anthropological angle, culminating in the intimate act of tattooing itself, despite popular myths about the needle. Subcultures where tattooing marks social boundaries endure, and a forthcoming show will pair photographs of a generation embracing beach vacations with Imserso. For now, the focus returns to critical pieces and a strong catalogue that guides the experience.
Until 1871, British soldiers condemned for desertion bore tattoos such as the letter D for escape or BC for bad character. Armenian women fleeing genocide in the 1920s faced forced prostitution, with pimps tattooing their faces and arms to prevent escape. Other stigmatizing tattoos appear in history: during the Vietnam War, some South Vietnamese soldiers bore the inscription sat cong, meaning death to communists, to deter defection; after the Gulf War in Iraq, a cross marked fugitives and conscientious objectors. In Auschwitz, prisoners were tattooed with registration numbers—the stark apex of administrative cruelty.
Conversely, the 19th century saw the rise of the vengeful tattoo, marking pride for those in marginalized groups such as certain units in war, bandits, convicts, or sailors. Across Britain, the Netherlands, and Denmark, tattooing shifted from a perilous lifestyle into more accepted craft or art from the mid-19th century onward, while in Spain the practice lagged and remained on the fringes until relatively recently. The 1980s carried the look further into pop culture, yet still carried stigma in many places.
The United States, a country with a flair for showmanship, has a pivotal early moment. In 1871, a traveling curiosity, PT Barnum’s Grand Traveling Circus Menagerie, Caravan and Hippodrome, showcased George Costentenus among other human oddities. It is said Costentenus endured months of tattooing in Burma, a narrative Barnum used to frame him alternately as victim and hero. From that era onward, heavily tattooed individuals became central to American fairs and the entertainment world, a connection that persisted into the mid-20th century.
Between the 1950s and 1990s, Baldaev, a Soviet prison officer, documented tattoos he observed on prisoners. His drawings reveal a universe colored by hostility toward totalitarian ideologies, mixed with fascination for power and rebellion. The broader context, as described by writers who observed the gulag era, shows political prisoners surviving under harsh regimes amid a criminal subculture that shadowed daily life.
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In today’s open, showy tattoo culture, two criminal subcultures still use ink as an internal system of rank and identity, even as body decoration becomes mainstream. One is the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, and the other is the Central American gangs, including Salvadoran and Honduran networks. Although facial tattoos are increasingly common, the graphic faces of gang members remain striking and unsettling. The exhibition also highlights tattoo traditions from Polynesia, New Zealand, Samoa, the Philippines, Thailand, and China.
Although the exhibition does not pretend to cover every facet, it offers a thoughtful look at how tattooing travels across cultures. It also brings in literary connections to widen the lens: a nod to John Irving through references in literature, where evocative lines speak to the body as canvas and memory, with motifs like Jericho roses hinting at hidden meanings. While not every claim mirrors reality, the catalog offers a rich blend of art, history, and cultural commentary, inviting visitors to consider tattooing as a cross-cultural phenomenon rather than a single style or trend.