IN THE EARLY 1960S, on Sundays at Speakers’ Corner, there was a man who would take off his shirt and reveal that every inch of his torso was covered in tattoos. He said not a word but had a knowing smile or smirk upon his face; the assembled audience laughed at what it thought was his foolishness and degradation.
Now, in the early 2020s, a university lecturer, who tells us that every inch of his body is tattooed, has had a book published by no less than the British Library, trying to explain the philosophically profound meaning of the recent epidemic of tattooing in the West. No doubt he considers this evidence of progress and enlightenment.
The author, an intellectual, tries to find deep philosophical justifications for the modern wave…
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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2021