Tattoo. Histories of the Mediterranean

Tattoo. Histories of the Mediterranean
17th May, 2025 – 28th September, 2025
The Museums of Marseille
Centre de la Vieille Charité
2, rue de la Charité 13002 Marseille
Marseille

Tracing the Evolution of Tattooing in the Mediterranean, from Ancient Ritual to Contemporary Culture

The Museums of Marseille are proud to present Tattoo. Histories of the Mediterranean, an exhibition held at the Centre de la Vieille Charité. This immersive journey explores tattoo practices across the centuries – from Antiquity to contemporary culture.

Beginning with the earliest known traces in Egypt, Syria, and the Cyclades, and extending to Greece, tattooing in the Mediterranean has evolved over time. Influenced by medical, religious, political, and aesthetic functions, it has become a vibrant form of artistic expression in the modern era, driven by popular culture. The exhibition traces this evolution – from ancient body art to contemporary trends – with a particular focus on the city of Marseille, where tattooing has become a key expression of local identity.

From Italy to Algeria, the Balkans to Iran, and from Spain to Cyprus, this project embraces global art history methodologies. It reflects the Mediterranean’s rich and complex geographies and incorporates perspectives from gender studies and postcolonial research. The exhibition offers a renewed reflection on a region defined by the permeability of its borders and shaped by centuries of religious, commercial, artistic, and cultural exchange.

Visitors will encounter a diverse range of artworks and artefacts, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, fashion items, and everyday objects. These pieces draw on contributions from history, art history, archaeology, ethnology, and anthropology. A special emphasis is also placed on contemporary interpretations of tattooing in Marseille and its influence on popular imagination.

Building on research initiated in 2023 as part of the exhibition Baya. An Algerian Heroine of Modern Art, this exhibition highlights artists from the Mediterranean who have drawn inspiration from tattoo motifs. These designs have influenced avant-garde movements, as well as feminist and decolonial currents in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran.

Unpublished works by prominent artists such as Choukri Mesli, Samta Benyahia, Farid Belkahia, Lalla Essaydi, and El Meya will be on display. Two rare drawings by Ahmed Cherkaoui, created in 1967 and acquired by the City of Marseille in 2024, will also be featured. In addition, the exhibition will include an unprecedented, site-specific work by Algerian artist Denis Martinez – created especially for this exhibition on the walls of the Centre de la Vieille Charité. Martinez, one of the founding members of the avant-garde group Aouchem (“Tattoos”) in the mid-1960s, now lives between Blida and Marseille.

This exhibition is presented in partnership with 24 ORE Cultura and the Museo delle Culture (MUDEC) in Milan, with exceptional support from the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. It benefits from significant loans from prestigious national and international institutions, including:

• The Louvre Museum
• The Musée d’Orsay
• The musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac
• The National Centre for Visual Arts (CNAP)
• The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden
• The Glyptothek, Munich
• The Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam

These works will be shown in dialogue with the heritage collections of the Museums of Marseille.

Tattoo. Histories of the Mediterranean opens on the 17th of May, 2025 until the 28th of September, 2025 at The Museums of Marseille

©2025 The Museums of Marseille