Tattooing has a history almost as old as man. The first documented evidence dates back to the prehistoric era, up to the Paleolithic. Over the millennia, the practice of marking the body with an indelible mark has evolved, gradually taking on different forms, meanings and functions. In past times people got tattoos to prevent and treat illnesses, to declare their rank or spiritual affiliation, for religious devotion, or simply for an aesthetic choice. You could also be tattooed "forcibly", as a slave or as a mark of dishonor. It was only between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries that tattooing became associated with prisoners and prejudice spread in society against a practice considered "primitive", unworthy of "civilized" man. But today things have changed. In recent decades, tattooing has undergone an evolution that has made it a socially accepted and extremely popular body modification. Today, if anything, we ask ourselves why we should get a tattoo and whether it is a truly personal choice or one imposed by fashion. An exhibition tells the story of the symbiosis between body and drawing.
