Marseille – The exhibition "Tattoo. Histories of the Mediterranean", held at the Vieille Charité museum in Marseille’s historic Panier district, invites visitors on a journey through the art and tradition of tattooing – from antiquity to the present day. Highlighting Marseille’s deep-rooted connection to tattoo culture, the exhibition also shows the rich and diverse tattoo heritage of North Africa.
The exhibition brings together 275 objects and works of art from across the Mediterranean region, loaned by more than 70 French and international institutions such as the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Glyptothek in Munich, and the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv.
Organised into thematic chapters, the exhibition draws on art history, gender studies, and postcolonial research to explore the Mediterranean’s cultural exchanges.
RFI talked to Nicolas Misery, curator of the exhibition and director of the museums of Marseille.
RFI: Has tattooing been used in the Mediterranean more than elsewhere?
Nicolas Misery: Actually, it's mostly about identifying these tattooing practices, which have remained relatively unknown and largely unnoticed among specialists.
There have been projects dedicated to tattooing, but they focused more on Oceania, the Americas, sometimes on Russia and Eastern Europe.
In fact, what specifically dealt with the Mediterranean has remained somewhat neglected in research – even though many Mediterranean cultures have been practising tattooing in various forms and with specific characteristics for several millennia. It was time to highlight this for the public.
RFI: What is the link between tattooing and the city of Marseille?
NM: It turns out that Marseille plays a central role in the art of tattooing.
Today, in Marseille – perhaps more than anywhere else – people get tattoos to evoke a person they love, a friend, family, or a romantic attachment. People also get tattoos to celebrate their city. Perhaps also to celebrate their football club.
I believe this is the sign of a unique relationship to the body. It reflects the light and the warmth of Marseille by the sea.
It is also a sign of how cosmopolitan Marseille is, since the bodies in Marseille tell us, through tattooing, about the movement of individuals and communities from antiquity to today. They ultimately come together and engage in a dialogue on the skin of individuals.
RFI: Why is this exhibition being held at the Vieille Charité in Marseille?
NM: The Vieille Charité centre is more than just a museum – it's a cultural hub where heritage collections come together, notably those of the Museum of Mediterranean Archaeology and the Museum of African, Oceanian, and Amerindian Art.
It's also a place that, in recent years, has been dedicated to contemporary creation. Right now, we're presenting an exhibition by Laure Prouvost in the Chapel of the Vieille Charité.
It's a space where we host concerts, talks, film screenings – and I believe tattooing fits perfectly within this transdisciplinary approach.
RFI: A section of the exhibition is dedicated to the practice of tattooing in North Africa – particularly in the Amazigh culture.
NM: We wanted to discuss these ancient tattooing practices in North Africa, notably among the Amazigh societies and cultures who practised tattooing and still do, especially among women. It was for protection but also for identification, a sign of social status, or the age of an individual for example.
It is an extremely complex practice but one that exists in all countries of the Maghreb and allows for the identification of ancient traditions passed from one generation to the next.
RFI: Is there a particular room in the exhibition that speaks to you personally?
NM: I would like to highlight a section dedicated to creation in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.
Since the 1960s, following decolonisation, many artists have been inspired by the graphism of tattoos to invent a new art form.
They are fully engaged in the artistic questions of that time, notably with regards to abstraction, while simultaneously breaking away from Western models in favour of the traditional North African practices.
This has resulted in marvellous and original creations by artists such as Choukri Mesli, Baya, Samta Benyahia and Farid Belkahia – artists rarely shown in France.
We were even fortunate to welcome the artist Denis Martinez who created an unprecedented work for this exhibition.
Denis Martinez is one of the founders of the Avant-Garde in Algeria in the 1960s, notably of the group Aouchem, an avant-garde group whose name means "tattoo".
► "Tattoo - Histories of the Mediterranean" runs until 28 September, 2025 at the Vieille Charité in Marseille.
