Sacred Skin: Thailand's Spirit Tattoos
TIME Magazine Review (Asia Edition)Luck of the DrawBy Andrew Marshall Monday, May 23Read more: time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2071020,00.html#ixzz1MpMZ1QpHThe introduction toSacred Skin, Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat's new tribute to Thailand'ssak yant, or sacred tattoos, begins with an agonized exclamation: "Uaaahh!" So it should. While modern tattoos are efficiently (though not exactly painlessly) applied with an electric machine,sak yantare hand-hammered into your wincing body with a long needle.But no pain, no gain - and, if you believe the enthusiasts, the rewards are out of this world. Devotees creditsak yantwith warding off sickness, attracting lovers and helping them emerge unscathed from car crashes. A housewife caught in last year's crackdown on antigovernment protesters in Bangkok tells the authors, "People around me got shot but my tattoo protected me."Sak yantare etched onto both soul and skin, as Thai photographer Aroon's portraits record in hypnotic detail. The mostly monochromatic designs borrow from Buddhist and Hindu mythologies, and the space between them is often overlaid with an ancient Khmer script that German writer Vater likens to "mysterious instructions." Designs are executed by priestlike figures who have their own secret ink recipes and recite prayers while they work. Their customers see themselves as disciples, bound for life to their master and feeling a kinship with all those bearing his designs. Some disciples are also in thrall to the tattoo's spirit. That introductory "Uaaahh!" emanated from a man who believed he was possessed by the spirit of the tiger tattooed on his torso. Vater describes him careering around a Buddhist temple near Bangkok in a trance so violent that it took five soldiers to subdue him.Prominent amongsak yantenthusiasts are police, soldiers and gangsters, who claim bullets bounce off their magical second skin. Many Thais still associate tattoos -- even sacred ones -- with lowly or violent professions, but there are two things wrong with this view. First, explains Vater, many devotees give up lives of crime after gettingsak yant, believing the tattoos' potency depends upon their living decent lives. Second, the appeal ofsak yantis broadening, not just among trendy young Thais but also foreigners, partly thanks to Angelina Jolie, who has a tigersak yanton her back.With its stunning photos and exuberant writing,Sacred Skinwill further popularize a centuries-old tradition. In Thailand,sak yanthave survived decades of economic development and Western influence. After warding off these modern forces, bad luck and bullets should be easy. --Andrew Marshall, TIME Magazine (Asia Edition), May 2011New Book Spotlights Magical Sak Yant Thai Tattoos.Sacred Skin Thailand's Spirit Tattoos, the new two-hundred page, eight-by-ten-inch guide to sak yant protection tattoos by Tom Vater, with colour photography by Aroon Thaewchatturat, is a beautifully organized, visual treat for both tattoo artists and collectors.Divided into easily navigable sections (Sak Yant, Master and Devotees, Sacred Images, Wai Khru the annual day of respect held in central Thailand and a helpful Glossary), this clearly-written, entertaining treatise is packed with fascinating facts and descriptions of every aspect of this time-honoured art form. But it's the photos that steal the show. Page after page of both full-body and detailed images showcase the work of leading traditional sak yant masters. This is the perfect handbook, for those of us who have long been intrigued by the magical hand-poked designs that protect the wearer from the dangers of an ever-encroaching world. --Bob Baxter. Editor in chief, tattooroadtrip.com - Baxters BlogAroon Thaewchatturat's extraordinary pictures do more than capture the tattoos, they capture their wearers' personalities, and perhaps even the energy invested in them by the designs. --Bangkok Post, Sunday July 31. Brunch Magazine, bangkokpost.com/arts-and-culture/book/249574/skin-deep