The Vanishing Tattoo

Jack Silberman/Vince Hemingson
49 minutes • 2003
Also available on DVD

Not long ago, the Iban people of Borneo were elaborately decorated with boldly designed tattoos depicting the story of their life experiences. But today, among younger generations of Iban, this unique traditional art is dying out. In what little tattooing remains, the ancient method of hand-tapping has been replaced by electric machines, and the deeply spiritual and personal traditional designs have been replaced by widely adopted western images.

In an attempt to document these ancient tattoo practices before they vanish, renowned Canadian tattoo artist Tom Lockhart and writer and historian of tattoo lore Vince Hemingson take a grueling journey deep into the heart of Borneo's jungle to meet the last remaining Iban tattoo artists.

Subject(s): Asian studies, Indigenous people, Tattooing, World cultures