Chris Rainier
Man with tattooed head, Tattoo Festival, Tahiti

Ancient Marks

Chris Rainier

Chris Rainier was named Photography Magazine’s “most influential photographer of the year.” His exciting and innovative new collection, Ancient Marks features the fascinating art of scarification and tattoos as a form of initiation and ornamentation dating back two thousand years and continuing around the world today. The exhibit features portraits of an astonishing array of people — from indigenous peoples in Tahiti to gang members in Los Angeles, from the mafia in Japan to the spiritual teachers of South Asia.

Through photography and text, Rainier communicates the strong need throughout humankind’s history to tattoo and decorate the sacred geography of the human body. This exhibit is available for travel starting Fall, 2008, and Rainier is available for an accompanying presentation of his experiences as a National Geographic ambassador and photographer.