Who hasn’t wished for an evening to adorn his ankle, his shoulder or the fall of his kidneys with a tattoo without any consequence? Those who answer me in the negative may throw their first pair of stilettos at me! As a child, you proudly wore your Malabar decal on your wrist and as a woman, the ephemeral henna tattoo has become a must for your beach memories. Others have since jumped to real tattoos.
A few weeks ago, Chanel created the buzz with its ephemeral tattoos, the new beauty accessory of this summer. Chic and trendy tattoos in decal mode to wear in town or in the evening on the upper thighs, wrists … But far from paying homage to the ancestral art of tattooing, her chic ephemeral tattoos are more of an alternative to permanent makeup and are aimed at women who want to look chic and rebellious for an evening.
In the world of real tattooing, the skin is seen more as a medium for artistic expression. Besides, don’t they say in some countries that tattoo addicts suffer from the web syndrome? And why not keep this idea and go all the way for ephemeral tattoos? Since skin is an artistic medium, why not offer it as a canvas to a contemporary artist so that he or she can create his or her own ephemeral work and thus make those who wear it a temporary exhibition space?
This is the idea that Dorothée Lalaine and Laura Bresteau had when they were looking for a way to promote contemporary art in a more nomadic way. : « The support of the work is ambiguous: in the same body thus very involving for the one who carries it, it is however impossible to appropriate it, since it is ephemeral. Wearing a Tink means participating in an original collective work: it only exists because it will be carried at a given moment by different people.«
For its first collection, Tink-It gave carte blanche to 5 artists from the French contemporary scene, who designed the tattoos in the spirit of their respective projects: YZ and his urban universe piece Downtown, Gilles Balmet and his Rorschach stains, Julien Langendorff and his poetic Daughter of Darkness, Benjamin Sabatier and his Brand Me imprint and Olivier Kosta-Thefaine and his working-class tattoos. From these collaborations were born boxes in limited and numbered edition – 500 copies per artist – including 2 tattoo boards, a presentation of the artist and a photo of the tattoo situation. These tattoos last about 2 days.
The Tink-It launch party was an opportunity to meet one of these artists: Benjamin Sabatier who was the first to respond, and whose work is a permanent questioning of the relationship between art and economy through several different media (logo, videos, collage, painting). Benjamin inscribes his work in an economic and social reality and questions the relationship between the individual and society. It thus defines modes and memberships to a social group defining the relationship of the individual with his Tribe. The notion of brand, a true sign of social belonging, is important to him. He created for Tink-It the work « BrandMe » which is the enlargement of his own fingerprint of the right thumb.
At the same time clue with police character and trace of the creative hand, this tattoo is literally the mark of Benjamin Sabatier: his signature. « The proposal was not obvious » he confides to us. « It was necessary to associate the tattoo at the same time with the notion of trace, of imprint and with the idea of the industrial logo, of signature, of identification. But it is ultimately something very personal since it is about leaving your mark on someone else. The others become a work of art and the trace of the crime is left. The tactile notion is very present. We really touch people and they let us touch them. »
Well, I was touched.
Tinks are on sale in Paris at Black Block (Palais de Tokyo), Hôtel Particulier, SAM Concept Store, l’Art de Rien Gallery, Artazart and on the websites of Design From Paris and Marquise Market.
What a wonderful idea to have an artist’s signature on your skin. I already have mine, now you have to find yours.
Price of the box: 39 euros.
Marie-Odile Radom
