RUSSIAN PRISON TATTOO EXHIBITION

LONDON!

In London, Fuel Design, publishers of the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia series, will be exhibiting a selection of 120 original drawings by Danzig Baldaev who documented the art and meanings of criminal tattoos--in over 3,000 sketches--during his time as a prison guard between 1948 and 1986. The exhibit also includes photos by Sergei Vasiliev, whose prints will be for sale, including the images shown here. You can see a sample of the drawings and photographs on Fuel's site. The Guardian has an article inspired by the exhibit called "Russian Criminal Tattoo: Breaking the Code," which gives some background on Baldaev's life and work, and how Damon Murray and Stephen Sorrell of Fuel came to acquire his drawings. It's a pretty compelling story, albeit only touched upon in a short article. I wish the reporter had replaced the few "tattoos of the world" meanings at the end with more on Baldaev and what motivated him to come home to his small apartment after a long day at work and just draw, into the night, the tattoos he saw.- (http://www.needlesandsins.com/2010/10/russian-criminal-tattoo-exhibit-in-london.html)

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