Chapman Brothers Tattoo Museum-goers

Jake and Dinos Chapman Photo via: The Jerwood Gallery

Lucky visitors to Jake and Dinos Chapman’s Jerwood Gallery exhibition in Hastings, Southern England, will keep an imperishable souvenir of the show.

To launch their homecoming retrospective “In The Realm of the Unmentionable,” the eternal bad boys have set up a tattoo parlor in the gallery.

Local newspaper the Argus reported that by lunchtime on the opening day last Friday, 11 people had Chapman brothers drawings inked onto their bodies. The artists first drew the design with a felt-tip pen, which was then rendered indelible by a local tattooist.

“I suppose I can sell myself now,” commented Ross Rollo, who now sports a contemporary artwork on his bicep.

Although neither Jake nor Dinos were born in Hastings, they grew up in the town, which has adopted them as local heroes.

Rollo Ross gets a tattoo designed by Dinos Chapman Photo via: The Argus

Rollo Ross gets a tattoo designed by Dinos Chapman
Photo via: The Argus

“When you are an artist there is no limit, so of course we will do tattoos,” commented Jake. “It’s like expanding foam.”

A few years ago, the brothers proposed a similar project for Frieze London. They were turned down on health and safety grounds.

Not all organizations have been as punctilious. Speaking to the Independent about a tattoo event staged in Montreal, Dinos reminisced: “Most of the audience chose to have Blondi, the German shepherd, not realizing that it was Hitler’s dog.”

Back in Hastings, the less brave had the opportunity to buy removable tattoo transfers for just £25, as part of a crowd-sourcing campaign to raise money for the exhibition.


Follow Artnet News on Facebook:


Want to stay ahead of the art world? Subscribe to our newsletter to get the breaking news, eye-opening interviews, and incisive critical takes that drive the conversation forward.