Whose Skin? Curating Tattooed Tableaux Vivants in Contemporary Art

Abstract

This article discusses tattoo works by contemporary artists Wim Delvoye and Santiago Sierra to raise questions about curating tattooed tableaux vivants. Showing tattoos on living persons in an exhibition context instigates an intriguing curatorial network. The relationship extends from the curator and the artist to the person carrying the artwork. Yet one cannot assume that the three parties act in agreement. Their connection may be social, art-focused or even market-driven. In a newly formed triangle of artistic and curatorial interests, the division of labour and distribution of profits have to be renegotiated.