Skin Text By David Smeulders & Bruno Setola, The Hague 2007
Concept & Creation: David Smeulders & Bruno Setola
Models: Johan en Almar
The aim of this experiment from 2007 was to touch on the subject of applying text to the body. Literally only text and only in black.
BODY VS SOUL
Some excellent examples of text-based tattoos have been published, for instance by Ina Saltz in Body Type (focussed on typefaces). Yet only in a few well executed cases do these texts reflect on the body itself. They are mostly reflections on the “soul” of that particular person. They try to get across the ambitions, dreams and tragedies of the person. People even advertise popular products and icons that they feel reflect on their own identity, disregarding the highly personal qualities of their own bodies.
Therefore we aimed to further investigate the way that text - be it written or set in type - can reflect on the body itself. Marshall McLuhan already stated in The Medium is the Massage that “all media are extensions of some human faculty - psychic or physical.” Hope you like our experiments.
More images from our sketchbook and photoshoot may be posted soon.
