Skin deep

Casia Ederyd is a very brave person. Not only is she going to have a very large tattoo inked on her skin as part of an event to accompany the Wellcome Collection’s current exhibition Skin, but she’s also left the design up to a public vote.

For the last month, users of the Don’t Panic online art community have been submitting designs in response to Ederyd’s brief. She says, ‘I wanted something that reflected what was going on under my skin. I think there is great beauty in the way we are put together both inside and out. This is also an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate the quality and creativity of the work that is being produced using skin as a medium.’

Other members of the Don’t Panic community have been voting on the designs and, as part of the Wellcome Collection’s late night opening on Thursday, the winning design will be revealed and tattooed on Ederyd there and then.

Visitors to the late night event will also get a chance to see the Skin exhibition and find out more about this often forgotten organ and the history of tattooing, which is now the fifth biggest growth industry in the UK.

The Wellcome Trust and Don’t Panic have let us see a couple of the popular entries but the winning design is tightly under wraps until Thursday. Let’s hope Casia gets a design that she likes and that it doesn’t hurt too much.

The Tattoos: Marks of meaning event is on 22 July 2010 from 7pm at the Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road
London NW1. Skin runs until 26 September, also at the Wellcome Collection.