Beneath The Skin

Hear the rest of this episode exclusively on Patreon 

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we talk about the life of early queer icon Joe Castairs

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we spoke to Egyptologist Dr. Anne Austin about her work discovering tattooed bodies in the Egypt and debunking what we previously thought about tattooing in the region. 

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we speak to Damon Murray and Mark Vincent about the Russian Criminal Tattoo encyclopaedias and their new book The Russian Criminal Tattoo Archive 

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

This is a recording of Adam's presentation from the recent Inked Up Marked Out Conference on the interdisciplinary study of tattooing.

Adam is a tattooist currently working in Manchester at Flesh Tattoo, and independent researcher. He completed his practice-based PhD in design in 2021 at The University of Sunderland in partnership with Triplesix Studios, where he began his tattoo apprenticeship in May 2017. This was the world's first to utilise tattoo practice as a research methodology and was described by external examiners (including Matt!) as "the most in-depth, detailed and considered first-person account of tattoo practice in the academic literature".

In this talk Adam draws upon six autoethnographic written accounts of encounters he had as a tattooist between 2018 and 2020, themed around his understanding of the tattooists occupational role. In addition to arguing the role of the practitioner being the provision of tattooing as a creative medium, he argues that the non-material facet of the tattooists role is the provision of service, and offer a framework for how that may be understood and the discipline specific nuances that are entailed. Through this, he sought to demonstrate that there is more to tattooing than just 'tattooing', so that future academic inquiry can be framed and conducted in a more empathetic and meaningful way.

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we spoke to Master Piercer, Researcher, and Historian Paul King about the life piercing and tattoo collector, enthusiast, and so much more, Rudi Inhelder.

During his life Rudi was a living document of the growth of tattooing over the 20th century and is the nexus through which so much mid century and later tattoo history flowed. 

This is Part 1 of a 2 part series on the life of Rudi Inhelder so please stay tuned to hear the rest. 

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we spoke to author, journalist, and ocaasional sideshow performer Kim Kelly about the history of Sideshow performers, the labour relations of the sideshow industry, and her personal experience as a so called "freak" 

Buy Kim's book 'Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labour'  

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

Hear the rest of this episode exclusively on Patreon 

New Merch available here

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we are delighted to share a conversation Matt had with the one and only, the legendary tattooist, Mr. Don Ed Hardy. 

The audio on this one isn't the best due to the technical limits at the time, but the conversation is a delight so we've included a transcript of the hour long interview below for anyone who is keen to dig into it more. 

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

On this episode of Beneath the Skin Matt talks about his journey to uncover what happened to early 20th century tattooed runaway Madeline Altman.

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Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]

Since the Nicholas Rossi/Arthur Knight story is back in the news we decided to unlock this episode so people know about one of the many insane details of the case. 

On this episode of Beneath the Skin we discuss the crossover between tattooing and the law. 

We cover the current Nicholas Rossi/Arthur Knight case, the famous Tichborne trial, the FBI's incomprehensible tattoo database, and lots more. 

If you want to follow us online for more updates CLICK HERE

Production by Thomas O'Mahony

Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art)

Intro Music by Dan McKenna

If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on [email protected]