New book shines light on tattoo culture in Soviet-era Estonia
A newly published book by University of Tartu doctoral researcher Oskar Poll provides the first ever comprehensive overview of tattoo culture in Estonia during the Soviet era.
Illustrated with numerous photographs, "Dad, I got a bird tattooed on myself!" is based on extensive research into body markings, identity, and underground creativity during the Soviet period.
Oskar Poll is a doctoral student at the University of Tartu, researching the development of tattoo culture in Estonia. His master's thesis focused on tattooing practices in Soviet Estonia, their meanings, and cultural background. Now, the collected material has been published in book form.
"For me, it is most closely associated with the Soviet attitude towards tattoos. If we take Peeter Simm's famous 1977 film 'Tattoo,' where Margus shows his tattoo with the phrase '"Father, I Had a Bird Made on Me!' and his father replies, 'That's it, your skin is ruined. You won't be able to get rid of it until they put you in a coffin.' It was like a curse. Now, this is slowly changing. Now, a tattoo is a decoration, it's no longer just that mess on your body," said Poll.
For his research in ethnology, folklore, and applied anthropology, Poll collected material from all over Estonia over a period of six years, interviewing and photographing the tattoos of approximately 200 people.
"There has been a lot of talk about how only prisoners got tattoos, but the reality was much more complicated – sailors got them, soldiers got them, but also many younger people got them, too. The youngest I found was someone who was in fourth grade. He was reading the book 'Countries and Peoples of the World,' which mentioned Polynesian tattoos. After that, he thought he would get a tattoo himself. Of course, he got beaten at home for it," Poll recalled.
"He did it himself. With regular ink and a pen at his school desk."
Poll's doctoral research also partly focuses on contemporary tattoos. He points out that modern tattoos have more artistic value than those done during the Soviet era.
"Tattoos are always linked to pop culture, meaning that the designs come from what is currently relevant in society as a whole, as well as the subculture with which it is associated. In this sense, tattoos are much more closely linked to art nowadays," Poll said.
Poll believes the history of tattooing in Estonia to be extremely rich and nuanced, adding that there is plenty of scope for further research topics in the future.
More information about the book is available here,
---
Editor: Michael Cole, Karmen Rebane
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"
