Vancouver Maritime Museum, located in Kitsilano’s Vanier Park (1905 Ogden Avenue), is often sleepy. But it shouldn’t be. Especially not with an exciting new exhibit Tattoos & Scrimshaw: The Art of the Sailor featuring controversial, headline-making “whale bone porn.”
Museum curator Patricia Owen, who did her thesis on Haida tattoos, and tattoo artist Christ Hold have worked together on a collection of contemporary photography, illustrations, equipment, tattoo “flash”, and dozens of pieces of scrimshaw – engravings made on whalebone.
The scrimshaw is the controversial stuff. One Vancouver mum kicked up a fuss over the etchings, some of which are moderately lusty. You can take a look at the raunch-levels and judge for yourself. While Ann Pimentel, the outraged mom, has requested that the scrimshaw is moved to its own room with 18+ entry, the Vancouver Maritime Museum already has the scrimshaw off to the side, in an elevated case to keep them away from children.
Meanwhile the outcry (National Post; Jezebel) over “whale bone porn” has boosted interest in the new exhibition.
In my opinion, the tattoos are the cool bit. For early sailors, a tattoo was an identity statement and a description of achievements and places visited. The Tyee lists these examples: a single anchor denotes passage across the Pacific, a dragon indicates time spent in the Orient. A palm tree to shows service in Hawaii. Crossed anchors indicates that the sailor was a boatswain or a boatswain’s mate, while crossed cannons signifies service in the navy.
The exhibit will be at Vancouver Maritime Museum through October 13. Entry by donation 5-8pm on Thursday nights.
