Normally, a lot of careful planning goes into getting a tattoo. Or, at the very least, people looking to get a tattoo become familiar with their design of choice. Tattoo artist Scott Campbell, however, has added an element of surprise to this process with his performance project called Whole Glory. Unlike the typical client/artist relationship, complete strangers slid their arms into a hole with no knowledge of what Campbell would draw, and no say in the matter, either.
Whole Glory took place at New York’s Milk Gallery from November 12 to November 15. There were 25 participants chosen via a lottery system. In an interview with DETAILS magazine, Campbell explained his mindset going into the exhibition, which was as much of a risk for him as the people he was tattooing. “It’s like being a palm reader, or a fortune teller. And maybe they’ll love it or maybe I’ll be totally off but I’m letting go. Here’s the thing, you would think that this project would eliminate my sense of responsibility towards my clients and kind of say, ‘Okay now I can do whatever I want’ but the closer I get to it the more responsibility I feel because of the tremendous leap of faith these people are taking. The amount of confidence they’re putting in me is even more so than just like, ‘Oh, I believe this guy can spell my grandmother’s name right.’”
See some of the tattoos that Campbell created, below. He has also shared the rest of the project on his popular Instagram account.
Scott Campbell: Website | Instagram
via [Lost At E Minor]