Launching today is INKED: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists, the new auction by JOOPITER — the platform founded by Pharrell Williams dedicated to collectible objects and contemporary art pieces — which this time explores the boundary between art, skin, and identity. Curated by Sharon Coplan, the auction brings together sixteen international artists invited to create a tattoo based on an idea or a visual element central to their practice. But let’s find out what actually happens at a tattoo auction.
INKED features a collection of previously unseen drawings, each signed and numbered in a single edition, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. These works can be tattooed onto the body but also stand alone as independent artworks, capable of existing on skin or on paper. It’s a reflection on the act of “wearing” an idea and on how art can exist beyond its traditional mediums.
Among the participating artists are Sarah Andelman, Derrick Adams, Thom Browne, Jeffrey Gibson, Gabriela Hearst, Haroshi, Stephen Jones, Titus Kaphar, Peter Marino, Joel Mesler, Marilyn Minter, Adam Pendleton, Tavares Strachan, Mickalene Thomas, the studio of Lawrence Weiner, and the celebrated tattoo artist Dr. Woo. Each of them interpreted the tattoo through their own aesthetic — from Weiner’s conceptual minimalism to Mesler’s pop romanticism, from Kaphar’s sculptural approach to Browne’s fashion-infused language.
But what is, in practice, a tattoo auction? In this case, the collector isn’t purchasing a physical object, but a project — a drawing conceived to be executed on skin, with a certificate attesting to its uniqueness. The auction winner can choose whether to have the design tattooed or to keep it as an artwork on paper, turning the concept of collecting into a personal and bodily gesture.
INKED is the first auction that JOOPITER has dedicated entirely to the body as an artistic space, representing a new form of encounter between contemporary art, fashion, and visual culture. Part of the proceeds will be donated to charitable organizations chosen by the artists themselves.
