Ignite Culture - Tattooed Relations - History, Identity and Community
Heidi Kellett
Tattooed Relations -- History, Identity and Community
Heidi is a PhD student at the University of Western Ontario in the Department of Visual Arts. She completed my BAH and MA in art history at York University, Toronto. In addition, Heidi teaches Art and Popular Culture to first year undergraduates at UWO where she cover topics ranging from cultural studies to art history.
Her research is rooted in the study of the human body and the ways in which we are compelled to mark, alter and decorate our physical exteriors in an effort to pronounce our identities to others. Her primary interest is the role of human skin in the contemporary arts, whether it is a medium, a surface or a screen onto which our emotional and psychological landscapes are projected. In addition, Heidi's research also covers the role of tattooing in contemporary visual culture in an effort to de-stigmatize the practice as a global, cultural art form.
Quirky Fact: Her interest in tattoo stems out of her family history and childhood memories of her maternal grandfather. Heidi's grandfather served in the Korean war during the 1950s and returned home to Canada with a very large portion (approximately 50%) of his body covered with 'old school' sailor tattoos.