Te Rangitu Netana using the uhi (traditional Maori Ta Moko tools)

Talk

Cultural imprints: tattooist spotlight talks

Saturday 20 October 2018 11.30am - 12.45pm

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts

£15, £9 concessions

Priority booking for Friends of the RA opens on Monday 10 September 2018 at 10am. Booking opens to the public on Wednesday 12 September at 10am.

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As part of our 'Tattoo: past and present' day of events, three tattoo artists from around the globe offer insights into their practice and discuss the varying cultural histories that have helped shaped their work today.

Each Tattooist will give a 20-minute spotlight talk on their current working practice and offer personal stories about their cultural histories and understanding of traditional processes within the contemporary world of tattoo.

Participating speakers:

Henk Schiffmacher is a Dutch tattoo artist, painter, writer, and collector. He is considered an expert within the field of body decoration, having curated exhibitions such as Wear Your Dreams at the Aboriginal Art Museum in Utrecht, written books including 1000 Tattoos, Tashen, 1995, and presented television shows such as World of Tattooing, 1994, on the subject. Throughout his years, Schiffmacher has become fascinated by the subject of tattooing, investigating the surrounding cultural histories and meanings. Henk has served as an advisor for exhibitions on the history of tattooing at institutes such as The Museum of Natural History, New York and the Museé de la Civilisation, Canada.

Te Rangitu Netana is a Traditional Ta Moko/Māori Tattoo Artist from New Zealand, and is of Ngapuhi, Ngati Wai and Te Arawa tribal descent. He has been practicing Ta Moko for over 28 years, and is experienced in both modern machine and traditional chisel methods of tattooing. For the last 10 years, he has been dedicated to bringing back the practice of Ta Moko with traditional tools.

Te Rangitu has travelled extensively throughout his career, working with tattoo masters from many cultures, including Hawaiian and Samoan. After many years living and working with his own people in the far north of New Zealand, he is now living in the UK, and works from his private studio near Colchester, Essex.

Maya Sialuk Jacobsen is a culture bearer, researcher and educator and has 16 years of tattoo experience, the last six of which were spent solely to Inuit Tattoo Traditions. She is mentoring Paninnguaq Lind Jensen through the process of becoming a traditional practitioner.

When Maya Sialuk is not tattooing in her home studio she is travelling on Inuit land (Greenland, Canada and Alaska) and teaching traditional tattoo methods to Inuit women or working with research and culture preservation in close cooperation with Nunatta Katersugaasivia (The National Museum of Greenland).

This event is part of the ‘Tattoo: past and present’ day of events. Scroll down for further information and to book a combined ticket.

£15, £9 concessions

Priority booking for Friends of the RA opens on Monday 10 September 2018 at 10am. Booking opens to the public on Wednesday 12 September at 10am.

Oceania

Go to the exhibition

, Female tattooed figure (detail) — Wood, pigment. height 58 cm
© Five Continents Museum, Munich; photo: Marianne Franke

Day ticket for 'Tattoo: past and present'

To celebrate this special event we have a limited amount of day tickets available for 'Tattoo: past and present'. This price includes access to all panel discussions, spotlight talks and a screening.

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, 11am–5.30pm, £32/£20

Book now