This is not the first instance of tattoo exhibition in a gallery setting. Such instances include an ongoing show at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts about Japanese tattoo and a 2014 show featuring photographs taken by Arkady Bronnikov that was held at the FUEL Gallery in London. The act of putting ink to skin dates back to at least the Neolithic era and has been practiced in all cultures. The oldest tattoos found on a human being date back to approximately 6000 BCE on the South American Chinchorro people. Purposes for such marking include designation of social standing or achievement, religious rites, memorial, or decorative ornamentation.
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