I wish I'd done this.

     Combining tattoo traditions from across the globe, Guy Le Tatooer is without doubt a veritable pioneer; through his own artistic pilgrimage to perfect his own timeless style he is pushing the boundaries of the medium and taking it to new and unexplored places.

Guy Le Tatooer - Tattooed arms, 2012

     In mid 2012, on the walls of Paris' Gimpel & Muller gallery, hung a series of box-frames. Within these frames were arms, reproduced in the unsettlingly realistic medium of silicon which had then been graced with the privilege of having tattooed upon them the unmistakable modern twist of folkloric imagery that is Guy Le Tatooer.

     The arms themselves are reminiscent of the animals and body parts preserved in formaldehyde in days of yore and bring with them the macabre aesthetics and morbid intrigue of specimen jars. Coupled with tattoo (a medium which has fluctuated in terms of class association over the past hundred years between valiant monarchs and thuggish peasants) these works, grouped together as a body of work, give off an air of forbidden interest, and from within the walls of the gallery, present this long standing taboo as if it were any other high art.

     The work exhibited was a study of how images "fit" the body. How they flow with the contours of the human form. As well as this, within the context of the gallery, Tatooer was providing a literal and undeniable interpretation of the tattoo as art.
     The composition and placement of tattoos and how they interact among each other when placed on the human body is something that interests me greatly. Carried out properly it can enhance a tattoo to beyond mere imagery and propel it on into something more. It is in itself a feat and through Tatooer's exhibition, can be truly appreciated.