Ink in the Pig Pen
It’s an affliction which affects us all – those occasional spasms of mad skin-lust to grab the nearest pig and impose an inky design on its hide. But just how do you tattoo a pig?
It’s a pertinent question and one that can be answered by 46-year-old Belgian artist, Wim Delvoye.
Delvoye is a conceptual artist who has worked with many media, including pigs. He recently moved his pig-tattooing operation to the suburbs of Beijing after his technique was banned in Europe. He inks pigs with a range of designs including Louis Vuitton logos, Disney characters and Chinese motifs, and the skins can sell for as much as £100,000 a time.
Why Pigs?
Says Delvoye, “Because they’re so close to us. First of all they’re very naked so you can easily tattoo them. They don’t feel it. They don’t even know they’re tattooed afterwards. But they’re so close to us.”
The logistics?
Obtain a pig, sedate it, shave it, apply Vaseline to its skin, and tattoo it.
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