June 2, 2009: Skin Art II

ZenGum • Jun 1, 2009 10:59 pm
After yesterday's widespread disapproval, here's how it should be done:

Edited from here:

[R]etired history teacher Geoff Ostling, 65, has pledged to donate his skin to the National Gallery in Canberra.

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He worked with cult artist eX de Merci over 15 years to tattoo a masterpiece on his body, from neck to ankle, with the theme "All the flowers of a Sydney garden".

"I wanted something unique, so I thought about a garden of plants, of natives and imported flowers, what you would find in a Sydney garden with a distant view of the city from Heartbreak Hill (at Rose Bay)," he said.

"To donate skin is not the most amazing thing in the world but the tattoos are revolutionary."

He will also donate his organs to medicine.

"It has never been done as a whole body before and not in a gallery," he said.

"People can be squeamish about it. Portraits painted on human skin hang in galleries around the world. They don't tell you that, of course, and valuable books were also covered in human skin."

Sydney taxidermy expert Sascha Smith said it could be a challenge to preserve the tattoos unharmed but the process would be no different to skinning an animal.

There is a video at the link, and plenty of pictures all over the net.
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Kasszia • Jun 2, 2009 12:15 am
The nipple rings and G string really ... um ... enhance(?) the whole package.

Excuse me, must go get a breath of fresh air.

Alright I'm back. I do have to say the tattoos are very nicely done! But I could have done without the "poses".
xoxoxoBruce • Jun 2, 2009 12:40 am
The G-string is common for posing with a full body suit in competitions.
ZenGum • Jun 2, 2009 12:55 am
... and the nipple rings are just there so they can hang his skin more easily. Gotta love forward planning.
Juniper • Jun 2, 2009 1:13 am
I can't help but think of how a diet might shrink the canvas...
rojomoke • Jun 2, 2009 6:24 am
Has anyone asked the National Gallery whether they want it?
ZenGum • Jun 2, 2009 7:08 am
Hi, Rojomoke, and welcome. From what I saw on the news a few months back, they intend to accept it. There is a video on the link provided, and plenty more interviews about if you are interested.

Oh, and I just remembered:

There was an old man in Australia
who tattooed his arse with a dahlia
The colour was fine
As was the design
But the aroma, that was a fahlia.
Sheldonrs • Jun 2, 2009 9:41 am
"The Illustrated Man" anyone?
ajaccio • Jun 2, 2009 9:46 am
ZenGum;570215 wrote:


...There was an old man in Australia
who tattooed his arse with a dahlia
The colour was fine
As was the design
But the aroma, that was a fahlia.


Bravo ZenGum!!! That's a great one! :p:p:p
dacliff • Jun 2, 2009 10:22 am
He looks pretty old and over weight, and the art is yet unfinished (notice the areas without color). I wonder if a tattoo artist could finish his "masterpiece" on a cadaver...that's if this guy pulls a "Robert Jordan" on his fans.
sweasel • Jun 2, 2009 10:25 am
So that's what history teachers look like in Australia...
birdclaw • Jun 2, 2009 10:26 am
I think its awesome. More skin more canvas right?
Cyber Wolf • Jun 2, 2009 12:06 pm
Why couldn't my history teachers be more like that?

Amazing... if the man put a suit on, you'd never know...
lookout123 • Jun 2, 2009 12:11 pm
Yes you would. You wouldn't be able to see his tattoos anymore.
Sundae • Jun 2, 2009 2:03 pm
I'd love to be a book cover.
Undertoad • Jun 2, 2009 2:07 pm
If you were, would you tell people not to judge the book by you?
Gravdigr • Jun 2, 2009 4:46 pm
Wow. He's got some preeeety nice flowers there, I wonder what all this work cost over the years? Maybe I should see the link.

Also this (I posted this elsewhere in the Cellar, maybe twice):

A marketwise girl from Vail
Tattooed her price on her tail
Being kind to the blind
She embossed her behind
With sensational bargains in Braille
Trilby • Jun 2, 2009 5:38 pm
Gravdigr;570303 wrote:


A marketwise girl from Vail
Tattooed her price on her tail
Being kind to the blind
She embossed her behind
With sensational bargains in Braille



wipes tear from eye. God, that's beautiful!
Mayor of Shekou • Jun 2, 2009 8:57 pm
OK, after two days of less than [ahem] appetizing pics, I'd love to see some of the finer Asian skin art. I did a minor search, but got more gross stuff than the nice stuff I know is out there. Anybody?
Gravdigr • Jun 4, 2009 1:55 pm
Here ya go.