Chris concentrated on the theme of the art of tattooing, documenting the rising popularity of the culture that has entered the lives of the masses in the 21st century. Shadowing the four artists, it was apparent that tattoos aren’t just drawing and ink: they are artwork. Exploring the entire process, from the initial sketches to the final pieces, Chris aimed to produce a professional series of images fitting both a live commercial brief and the ‘Getting Modern’ documentary project.
Furthermore, Chris’s images also fulfil, somewhat, Jacques Lacan’s theory of ‘The Gaze’. Most apparently, the art of tattooing is relevant to the Mirror Stage and the Symbolic Order Stage. The Mirror Stage allows one to give subjectivity to one’s self and create an ideal ego within culture. Tattoo’s can be viewed as achieving and cementing one’s position within culture; for example following tradition. Tattoos, however, can also feed one’s egotistical and narcissistic tendencies, which is compliant with the Symbolic Order Stage. This can be fuelled by the validation of others, for example the complimenting on a piece of skin artwork.
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