Scott Campbell’s Whole Glory Exhibition takes tattooing to a new level…
Tattoos are a pretty serious thing and let’s face it, (drunken tattoo-parlour trips in Magaluf aside) they normally require a lot of thought and planning about what to get. After all, this is a mark that will be on your skin forever.
Which is why some controversy is surrounding tattoo artist Scott Campbell who has recently touched down in London and is re-staging his popular ‘Whole Glory’ installation in Covent Garden. After holding a successfully similar event in New York, Campbell is hoping his idea of inking strangers via a hole in the wall where they have no idea or communication about what they will be inked with will be just as popular in the UK as in the big apple.
The idea of sticking your arm in a hole and handing your unblemished skin to the mercy of a needle-wielding stranger seems a little odd to us. The idea of the artistic and sentimental reasons for tattooing seemingly on-existant, but according to Campbell it’s ‘a chance for people not to take their physical selves so seriouly and take part in an exchange of faith that will literally change who they are for the rest of their lives.’
Having a large celebrity clientele under his belt (Campbell has tattooed the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Marc Jacobs, Penelope Cruz and Heath Ledger) Scott is probably the man you would most like to be on the giving end of your tattoo, even if you don’t know what it is going to be.
We’re not going to lie, the potential for disaster here is pretty huge, but it seems so far this has been avoided. Out of twenty-three successful people he tattooed in NYC, they all seemed to be happy with their results.
Feeling brave? (Or maybe just plain reckless) Tattoo slots will be given away via a random lottery draw every day of the installation, so make sure to get tin line!
There will also be a collection of tattooed ‘patchwork quilt’ pig skins on display, for those who want to admire Scott’s work without going under the needle.
‘Whole Glory’ is presented by Lazarides at 26 Henrietta Street, WC2E 8NA, from October 7-9. Six lottery slots will be drawn throughout the day, starting at 10am.
