sabbathofthegoat: ‘MAUVAIS GARÇONS: PORTRAITS DE TATOUÉS (1890-1930) (is an
sabbathofthegoat: ‘MAUVAIS GARÇONS: PORTRAITS DE TATOUÉS (1890-1930) (is an) incredibly exciting new book of photographs taken by the French authorities from 1890- 1930 and decodes the meaning of the drawings… on the bodies of prisoners, convicts and individuals who passed by the African battalions at the time. The photographs were discovered through a retired policeman who had had an interest in tattoos… Besides explaining the symbolism behind the tattoos it also tells the story of the daily detention of these men and their experience of social exclusion. Great detail is dedicated to the meaning behind many of the tattoos, and are categorised into the likes of revenge, erotic desire, religion, history, patriotism and love. The authors Jerome Pierrat and Eric Guillon (editor of Tattoo magazine) explain how tattoos may be commonplace in our society now, but in France for decades they were almost exclusively associated with the underworld, the gangsters and criminals, as a way to document their time in prison and criminal identity.’ -- source link