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From Delinquent Youth to Cool Kids: Taiwanese Tattoo Artists 1980–2020
Over the past four decades, tattooing in Taiwan has evolved from an underground, rebellious subculture into a form of personal expression and embodied attitude. If one were to compile the cultural and historical narratives of tattooing during this time into a single book, a large-format volume with a sense of temporal weight might seem expected. However, staying true to a grassroots spirit, we chose to bring it closer to the ground. Each era holds equal importance, so we have deconstructed it into eleven slim booklets. Through this binding approach, we aim to reconsider another kind of cultural attitude—one that reflects a continuously shifting perception, from subculture to mainstream, and onward to pluralistic ways of seeing.
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From Delinquent Youth to Cool Kids: Taiwanese Tattoo Artists 1980–2020
Over the past four decades, tattooing in Taiwan has evolved from an underground, rebellious subculture into a form of personal expression and embodied attitude. If one were to compile the cultural and historical narratives of tattooing during this time into a single book, a large-format volume with a sense of temporal weight might seem expected. However, staying true to a grassroots spirit, we chose to bring it closer to the ground. Each era holds equal importance, so we have deconstructed it into eleven slim booklets. Through this binding approach, we aim to reconsider another kind of cultural attitude—one that reflects a continuously shifting perception, from subculture to mainstream, and onward to pluralistic ways of seeing.
The body is both the vessel of tattoo culture and the site where narratives are created.
The slipcase, featuring a blank arm, supports the cultural lineage of tattooing across four decades and multiple generations. The spine also functions as the cover, with the title stamped in foil, echoing the physical process of tattooing on skin. The slipcase is made from semi-fluted corrugated paper, housing eleven slim volumes: one introductory booklet and ten others, each dedicated to a tattoo artist’s work and perspective.
As each booklet is pulled from the case, readers encounter full-bleed tattoo imagery—a striking contrast to the blank exterior—guiding them into a rich, layered world of tattoo culture.
The interior pages are printed on semi-translucent paper, preserving a sense of permeability and ambiguity in the images. Tattoos are not presented as neatly framed displays, but rather as something to be experienced in proximity to the body.
Each artist’s inner cover is designed with a typographic language that reflects their individual style, and features a two-part binding structure. Upon opening, the first layer presents fragments of tattoos created by or on the artists themselves, articulating their generational perspectives and creative contexts.
The title page of each booklet functions like tracing paper used in the tattoo process—a preparatory gesture before the needle meets the skin, symbolizing the state of readiness before entering the act of reading. Red linework is used here as a tribute to the traditional freehand techniques once executed with red pigment by early tattoo artists.
Rather than pursuing excessive refinement, the overall design embraces a more grounded, grassroots approach, allowing subculture to manifest on paper in a way that remains close to the land—conveying the raw spirit embedded within tattoo culture.
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