It wasn't too long ago that tattoos were found exclusively on a very specific group of people, convicts, and researchers from the Department of Forensic Medicine at Jagiellonian University collected a series of Preserved Prison Tattoos to study. Taken from dead inmates, these tattoos were contained in formaldehyde to ensure that no rotting would take place. Very morbid, Beautiful Decay points out that "photography might have been the simpler (and more obvious) solution."
Yet the Preserved Prison Tattoos series is interesting in and of itself. Encased in glass, they don't look like tattoos at all, but another form of hieroglyphs. Considering that crude tools like razor blades, broken glass or paper clips were used with pencil refills, charcoal or crayons mixed with water, fat or urine as ink, that should come as no surprise.
Preserved Prison Tattoos
Jagiellonian University Collected Inked Prisoner Skin in Formaldehyde
Trend Themes
1. Tattoo Preservation - Opportunity for innovating preservation methods for tattoos, potentially in a more aesthetically pleasing way than formaldehyde.
2. Study of Prison Tattoos - Opportunity to further research the cultural and sociological significance of prison tattoos and their messaging.
3. Alternative Tattoo Inks - Opportunity to develop safer, more sustainable and easily accessible tattoo inks that can be created within a prison environment.
Industry Implications
1. Forensic Medicine - Potential disruptive innovation in the field of forensic study by utilizing preserved prison tattoos as a way to analyze criminal psychology.
2. Art and Design - Opportunity for artists and designers to explore the visual and cultural impact of prison tattoos in their work.
3. Tattoo Industry - Possibility to create new services or products that cater to the preservation and study of tattoo history and culture, specifically focused on prison tattoos.