What is tattoo?

Why do we get tattoos today?

Are they personal choices dictated by profound needs or decisions taken lightly, because "today everyone does it"?

And, above all, what stories are hidden behind a sign, forever "ours"?

These are not trivial questions.

A tattoo can be a message to show to the eyes of the world, an ornament that persuades us or deludes us that we are unique, a vow kept or a playful souvenir, a symbol of belonging or a declaration of independence, a proof of love or mourning.

These are not mutually exclusive options, especially in our country. According to the latest published research, in fact, Italy is in first place among the nations with the highest number of tattooed people, with 48% of the adult population, followed by Sweden (47%) and the USA (46%). It is a recent social and cultural phenomenon, but one that significantly characterizes us, also by virtue of an ancient tradition, which few know.

The interest of Mudec was born from these considerations of a social as well as cultural nature, which wanted to deepen the knowledge of practices, rituals, forms and expressions that are found in any era and in every corner of the earth - from antiquity to today - through an exhibition project that addresses tattooing from a historical, anthropological and cultural point of view, starting from the places where its first irrefutable evidence was found: the Mediterranean basin.