Warpaint

Bodypainting existential

In addition to the fact that tattoos are permanently inscribed on the body, they are also a form of body painting. And body painting is a fundamentally human need that was already in vogue among Stone Age people. They used earth colors to paint themselves - the tattoo needle had simply not yet been invented. It was only much later that more and more attempts were made to permanently affix and integrate body painting on and in the body. During his stay on Easter Island in 1934, Alfred Métraux studied the local Rapa Nui people. He talks about their special relationship to "body jewelry": the Rapa Nui defined their interest in their own appearance more through tattoos than clothing.

There were people there who specialized in "tattooing". Using a hook made of bone, which they dipped in pigment beforehand, the color was tapped into the skin with a hammer. The pigments came from the charcoal of branches and the admixture of berry juice from the "black nightshade", a very poisonous plant. TOP

The whole process was very lengthy and took years. The "tattooing" was started at the age of 8. The sessions were extremely painful and dangerous. The tattoos thus remained unfinished for some of the "Rapa Nui" people.

Body - Soul - War

Nowadays, body painting tends to follow lustful motifs. The body is an object of desire, of life and of confrontation with its environment. Since the hippie movement, we have returned to an intense engagement with the body; we paint ourselves when we dress up (body painting), when we protest (Femen), and when we want to be mystical and sexy (swingers club?). And for a better complexion, we apply a healing mud mask. From 99 cents in the drugstore.

A completely different aspect is body painting, which serves the purpose of warfare. Among the Indians, for example, body painting was and is of great importance in times of war. Red color means success in war. The blue color means defeat and difficulties with the enemy.

War paint exists in all cultures around the world. The Germanic tribes often went into battle painted completely black. The strongest effect on the viewer is when the opponent's face is distorted. This is because the individual personality is reflected in the facial expression. Now, painted, tattooed, altered, the face appears strange and frightening. The "Scottish" Picts dyed their faces with woad to give them a fearsome appearance in battle. Caesar reports: "All Britons dyed their faces with woad, which gives them a blue coloration ... and this makes them so terrible to look at in battle".

Warface

The face should darken, a new character should appear. A frightening character. One that belongs to a person you have to be wary of. It's psychological warfare that's been done, or rather deliberately applied. Ideally long-lasting, because wars can last longer. That's why tattoos are the best alternative in the event of war. They characterize the long-suffering warrior. Wars have been going on since time immemorial. Disputes over land, honor, hunger for power or different beliefs have always been the cause of armed conflicts. The corresponding tattoos on bodies that have experienced war provide information about this - but also tell of all the suffering that war brings to people.

War and peace

Dialectically speaking, the war symbols on the skin also point in the opposite direction - in the necessity of peace and overcoming crises.

Tattoos that have war as their theme can also stand as warning symbols, as a way of dealing with pain and conflict. The time of war was terrible, but now it is pacified. The tattoo is a healed scar on my skin. A heavy but necessary tattoo. And one that symbolizes healing. Tattoos about the Second World War, for example, often show the memory of dead comrades or family members. They are a sign of loss and also of a deep aversion to violence. Wars always bring pain and suffering - for both sides. War tattoos are therefore often also a cautionary motif, intended to bring the horror and grief of such events closer to the viewer. The tattoo is a permanent, "living" memorial against violence. Such a tattoo is therefore also one of the deepest and most impressive expressions of the desire for peace.

War may be the "father of all things" (Heraclitus, born 520 BC). But it can be overcome, by daughter and son: every pain, no matter how great, can be symbolically overcome - and better times appear on the horizon.