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People stuck their arms through a hole and let an artist give them 'mystery tattoos'
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SOME PEOPLE MULL over a tattoo idea for years. Others get spur-of-the-moment ink. But would you let someone else decide what’s going on your body forever, without consulting you?
Artist Scott Campell usually tattoos high-profile clients like Mark Jacobs and Courtney Love – last week, he announced that he wanted to tattoo some members of the public for free.
But there was a catch.
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Campbell set up a screen in the middle of an art gallery with a hole in the middle, as part of an installation called Whole Glory (geddit).
Anyone who wanted a free tattoo had to put their arm through the hole and let Campbell tattoo anything he was “inspired” to do – and they weren’t allowed to see it until he was finished.
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You might think it’s crazy, but people came in their dozens, and were eventually selected to be tattooed by a lottery.
Campbell did around 25 ‘mystery tattoos’ – each one was just a little bit different. Some were wacky:
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Some were intricate:
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Others were more delicate affairs:
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In an interview with the New York Times, Campbell said he had a few designs sketched out, but made up others on the spot:
Well, you have to respect their pluck.
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