Part 4.

SG: Really? They had full body tattoos on Rapa Nui?

TA: Yes. We know that from the old illustrations. The women sometimes had tattoos on their lower backs. But again, not the type of thing you could incorporate into a smaller piece.

SG: When I saw the movie "Rapa Nui" there were lots of tattoos. How authentic were those designs?

TA: Not terribly, although about half way through the filming there were two strikes that involved the Rapa Nui people. What they really wanted was just more say. They were really resentful over the fact that Maori actors and other westerners were brought in to portray their people, and that their history was distorted. There were also some real problems with the working conditions. Anyway, during one of the strikes, they were told that they could do their own body painting. And from that point on it was a little bit more authentic.

SG: How many records are there of authentic ancient Rapa Nui tattoo designs?

TA: I'm just going to guess between 20 and 25. These are old drawings, predating the demise of tattooing. So we have a fairly good idea of what Rapa Nui tattoos looked like. We know nothing of what they meant.

SG: Tell me about your own work. Do you do tattoos yourself?

TA: Yes.

SG: How did you learn?

TA: Some friends or academics who had worked on Rapa Nui had come back to Honolulu and I had asked them if there was anyone tattooing there - anyone that had a real interest - and what sort of art was being done. And they gave me five names of artists, and a schoolteacher and one librarian, that had a real interest in tattoos. There were no tattooists there, but at least there were people with the interest. So I started to write to these people and sent them all a list of our bibliography - what we have in our libraries in Honolulu, because we do have one of the best collections in the Pacific. I wrote to them that if they didn't have any of those sources on the island, to let me know and I would see what I could do to send them photocopies or whatever. I got three letters back stating that they did have all of those books but islanders weren't allowed access to the museum or to the library.

It seemed outrageous and I didn't really believe it. It didn't really sink in until I got there much later and I was denied access. So, I had no intention of ever going there at this point, but I just started buying books about Rapa Nui and making photocopies to mail. Shortly after this I was told of a scientific research vessel that was going to Rapa Nui and they were looking for volunteers to work mapping seafloor spreading and stand watches on the ship in trade for travel. So I wound up taking this volunteer position on board the ship. I worked 45 days at sea getting there. Because I did go by ship and not by plane, I didn't have the usual baggage restrictions. So I took down a big box of books to give to these artists.

Ed Hardy was living in Honolulu at the time, and we were getting together for lunch once in a while. When I found out I'd be going to Rapa Nui, I brought this stack of copies of the old Rapa Nui tattoos to show Ed. He was looking through them and he said "Wouldn't it be fun to give them the real thing instead of a photocopy?" And I said, "Yeah."

So he taught me and a Tahitian friend, Eriki Marchand, to tattoo at my house, largely in preparation for my trip. Eriki had a strong interest in Marquesan art, as I do, particularly Marquesan tattooing. He's a professional dancer and a graphic artist and had done a lot of paint-on tattoos at the Polynesian Cultural Center. So Ed basically just helped us in setting up the machines and watched over our shoulders while we tattooed ourselves. I did several dozen tattoos on friends, sometimes with the benefit of Ed's critiquing my finished work, then figured I was at least ready for Rapa Nui.

While I was on Rapa Nui, I met a dancer with a traditional dance group there who was really intrigued with tattoos and wanted one. His name was Pascal Pakarati. I did a full arm piece on him. And the more time I spent with him the more I realized he was really a good artist. When we was sitting in a restaurant, he would be always drawing on napkins or whatever was available. After about a week I asked him, "Do you want to learn to tattoo?" So I taught him and the local dentist, who had also expressed an interest in learning to tattoo. I thought if I taught Pascal to tattoo at the hospital, along with the dentist, that would give the local guys access to sterilization. I did the outline and then handed him the machine and he did the fill-in. He had been with me almost every time I had done a tattoo. He was assisting me by setting up the machine, hooking me up to a car battery, watched me put in tubes, and all of this. Before I left the island we meet with a sculptor on the island, who is tattooed, and his wife who has done a lot of research on Rapa Nui tattooing. She was educated in Chile. They translated information on sterilization and disease transmission and sterilization, as I couldn't afford miscommunications in that area.

I've made two recent trips back to Rapanui (Easter Island), in October of1998 and in February of 2000, and was pleased to find that there are now three tattooists working there. Pascual Pakarati is still tattooing, although he is even busier with his dance troup. One of his cousins Andre' (Panda) Pakarati returned from studing in Chile a few years ago and is now a dedicated, serious tattooist. And another professional dancer, who goes by Tito, that is doing top-notch work. It's great to see that the tattoo of Easter Island is once again thriving!

SG: Did you find that some of the Polynesians had a negative attitude about a western woman tattooing traditional designs?

TA: For the most part, no. I didn't get nearly as much static as I expected to have in Tahiti, because tattooing is an all-male occupation there, as it is in the Marquesas. No Polynesian woman had ever tattooed down there. With certain tattooists, there was at first a certain reluctance to let me photograph them. They've been taken advantage of so many times, particularly by photographers who go down, take their photo, make books, never send them copies, make promises they don't keep, that the Polynesian tattooists are pretty leery, and rightfully so. So in many cases, they were somewhat hesitant at first and I had to some degree prove myself. I had to prove that I had some knowledge and respect for their culture, that my intentions were good, and that I follow through with my word. If I tell them that I'll send them something, then I do. It seems though, that there is always somebody who takes offence no matter what, in anything that you do. My first trip to Rapa Nui, there was one young man who didn't like what I was doing, but out of a population of 2500, that isn't bad. I tattooed 45 Rapa Nui people free, so there were lots who thought I was ok. I think anywhere you go, no matter what you do, there will be somebody who is offended, for whatever reason.

SG: So do you do a lot of work there?

TA: No, not really. More photographic work than tattooing. On my first few trips in 1991 & '92, my purpose was to document the tattoos that were being done by photographing them and made a point to meet the tattooists. They were all totally intrigued and fascinated with seeing an American machine. They had never seen one before, let alone used one. I told them they could use my machine if they wanted, and they did. I did a lot of tattooing, but most often on tattooists or friends that might be housing me. So the local tattoo artists know that I'm not competition. I'm not there to work and make money. Now, I travel mostly to visit my friends and to bring supplies. I'm there to help them. I only tattoo tattooists, for the most part these days. And a few dancers and friends. But I don't tattoo commercially. I go there to visit and to document the revivial and to visit with my friends, who mostly happen to be tattooists.

Previous Page Next Page