The Halls of Ink

The Hall of Indigenous Traditions

Hand tapped tattooing is one of humanity's oldest unbroken art forms. Marks made by hand, struck into the skin, carried across thousands of years. These are the living traditions, and the artists who keep them.

Bunga TerungIbanBorneo, SarawakThe flower beneath the collarbone, worn for the journey.10 artists Ta MokoMaoriAotearoa, New ZealandCarved, not punctured. The face that tells the lineage.10 artists BatokBatokPhilippines, KalingaEarned in soot and thorn, struck by hand in the mountains.4 artists TitiMentawaiIndonesia, SiberutThe marks that keep the world in balance.2 artists PaiwanPaiwanTaiwanThe hundred pace viper, worn by the daughters of chiefs.1 artist KakauKakau UhiHawaiiTo strike and to place. Genealogy written in bone.1 artist Hand TappedHand TappedPacific and Island Southeast AsiaThe struck instrument. The oldest way to mark the skin.4 artists