Thomas Jeppe│Old Men's Tattoos

Real old school styles from a time when tattoos were truly controversial! Old Men's Tattoos is a collection of tattoos made from the 1940s to the 70s, photographed in the 2000s in America, Europe and Australia. These are images of living history, anachronistic aesthetics that stand as echoes of the past. They are at a point which all tattoos promise to reach; a blurry embodiment of the passing of time, a permanent relic. They are from a time when tattooing meant something vastly different to what it means today, and as such, they remain outside the ebb and flow of contemporary trends; fundamental and at the same time sovereign. In a time of absolute freedom and endless variation in tattoo culture, these images stand out for their bold and simple aesthetic gestures.