New Direction

After continuing research into the current trends available in the current fashion industry, in regards to graphic design illustration particularly on tshirts. I noticed a lot of the designs looked similar to tattoo designs, this brought me into the history of tattooing and the vast symbolism within the tattoo culture.


I read an article about The Kayabi, tribes who live in the amazon rainforest in Brazil and the history of the reason they have been tattooing for hundreds of years.

http://larskrutak.com/the-kayabi-tattooers-of-the-brazilian-amazon/

I took some quotes from the article that are of interest and relevent to the reasons behind the tattooing;

• 'Some groups tattooed for medicinal purposes or to ward away evil spirits; others etched designs into their bodies to show success in battle or to venerate or imitate the mythic cultural heroes of the past. Still more attempted to transform themselves into predatory animals or gain spiritual guardians with their ritual markings, while others believed that their ancestral marks transformed “girls” into “women” and “boys” into “men.”'

• 'Still more tattoos could provide their wearers with specific powers attributed to the spirits that were embodied in them. For example, a frog placed on the shoulder or arm was related to a group of spirit masters in the lineage of the frog that are protective in nature. Moreover, great Kayabi warriors wore jaguar tattoos on their foreheads or had two jaguars tattooed upside down beneath their eyes called towaja’wat so that they could hang from trees or jump on their “human” prey without injury. To be tattooed in such a way not only gave you great status amongst your peers, but it was also believed that your behavior would change after receiving the tattoo because you became more “jaguar-like.”'

I also had a look into the Mayan culture, as they have a vast array of symbolic symbols and spiritual connections to certain animals which they use in their art.

https://rattatattoo.com/mayan-tattoos-combine-tribal-spirituality-with-body-art/

• 'Mayan designs often included animals such as eagles, jaguars and snakes. Each of these animals is a totem animal, meaning that it has spiritual meaning to human beings. Eagles are a symbol of power, foresight, flight and ferocity. Jaguars are a symbol of strength, stealth, agility and great hunting skills. Snakes and serpents were associated with the sky and spirituality and were often depicted with wings in Mayan art. The distinctly Mayan art style looks great in tattoo designs either as a simple, outlined glyph or a color tattoo with shading.'

http://www.ancient-symbols.com/mayan_symbols.html

• Jaguar - god of the underworld, symbolic of darkness and the night sun, representation of leadership, control and confidence. Strength, ferocity, power and valor.
• Eagle - focus, mental acuity, awareness, keen judgement, powefull communication and inspiration. Ruler of the sky, freedom, mental liberation, protection, authority, control, unity of cooperation.
•  

http://www.crystalinks.com/mayanhistory.html

• 'The Mayans are regarded as the inventors of many aspects of Meso-American cultures including the first calendar and hieroglyphic writing in the Western hemisphere'

Although I don't enjoy the Maya art as much as the Kayabi tribes, they do have a huge amount of symbolism and spiritual beliefs which could still be filtered into my own designs.

I want to continue to explore traditional tattooing and symbolism within the designs and then go on to create my own designs with reference to the traditional work. Then eventually implement them onto apparel.