For those with tattoos, the human body is a canvas. Now, The National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art (NAPSA) is giving these artworks a frame. Post-mortem, that is. With a Save My Ink membership, you can ensure that your loved ones will receive your embalmed and framed tattoo three to eight weeks after your death.
“These pieces should be treated as what they are, fine art,” executive director Charles Hamm informed Hyperallergic in an email. “If one frames the piece according to NAPSA guidelines and keeps it out of direct sunlight, the piece should last forever.”
The formula for this super effective preservation method was patented after a year of research on two tattoos donated by the founder of the organization. Today, members of this non-profit organization need only pay an initial fee, followed by yearly dues, and designate a beneficiary. Upon the tattoo owner’s death, the beneficiary alerts the NAPSA within 18 hours. The funeral home is then overnighted a tattoo removal kit and paperwork. The embalmer must then remove the tattoo within 60 hours, and ships it back to the NAPSA. From there, the organization preserves the skin using a special embalming process. The team also retouches the art, so that it appears as fresh and crisp as the day it was tattooed.
Hamm explains, “You would never burn a Picasso or any piece of art you invested in and had a passion for. Your tattoo is also art with a unique story, just on a different canvas.”
This service may initially seem grotesque, but historically it’s nothing new. Since Ancient Egyptian times, pharaohs were mummified to preserve their corpses. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham famously requested his body be preserved, and has been sitting, encased in glass, at the University College London. Beyond the body, poets of the Romantic era saw their art as a gateway to immortality. Although their corporeal selves were subject to rot, their art would live on. Save My Ink is merely a marriage of these two desires, to leave behind a physical and artistically meaningful trace.
You can sign up to preserve your body art here, or just browse and explore a thriving online tattoo community.
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