Through the Body
Capturing contemporary tattoo practices on skin and paper.
Capturing contemporary tattoo practices on skin and paper.
Explorating tattooing as a craft.
This self-published coffee table book reflects on the intimacy of visual storytelling on skin, from client's vision to the healing process, crystallizing thoughts after six years of working as a tattoo artist in Zurich and Paris. It addresses the lack of serious consideration of tattooing as a contemporary art form within art discourse and art book publishing.
All-around art direction: concept, texts, photography, visual
language, narrative development, editorial design and production.
language, narrative development, editorial design and production.
The book's visual language flows like water, mirroring how wavy flow tattoos move with the body's contours. This organic flow principle guides every design decision in terms of imagery, narrative structure and grid systems. Each chapter represents a layer of the dermis; each page spread is designed as a complete visual experience.
Photography direction and execution focused on capturing both the precision of linework and the vulnerability of the tattooing moment, as well as documenting the artistic process from idea to motif. Hand-drawn illustrations and design proposals underline the individual nature of each tattoo, complemented by the explanations and interpretations alongside them.
The format of a coffee table book serves as an introduction to contemporary practices of tattooing. As an image-focused medium, it allows for a sincere interaction with tattooing as an art form, while keeping texts short and concise.