200 pages, 280 x 215 mm, paperback
150 colour photographs
ISBN 978 616 7339 21 4

Price $ 0.00

During the last twenty years tattooing has experienced a veritable renaissance in modern societies. For hundreds of years before this, however, Buddhist monks, using magical incantations and spells, have been covering peoples’ bodies with indelible ink marks in the belief that they will attract luck, wealth, and blessings, to provide protection against evil spirits and render the bearer invulnerable to stab wounds and even bullets. Known in Thailand as Sak Yant, these ancient tattoos are today experiencing a revival in popularity both in their own country and beyond. Fashion or social phenomenon, the demand for magical tattoos keeps on rising. Hollywood stars and Singaporean business men alike, flock to Thai Sak Yant Masters to have these powerful designs inked onto their bodies. At the same time, Thai tattooists are regularly invited to practice their sacred art abroad thus increasing the popularity of Sak Yant worldwide.

Filled with large format photographs, and approaching the subject from the perspective of the Sak Yant masters and the tattooed believers themselves, this book provides a unique window into their world, and in doing so illustrates one of the last living examples of authentic traditional tattooing.