Creatures of the sea, creating wearable adornment to protect the body and unique materials, inspire my artwork. Through research and examination of sea creatures, I look to their defense mechanisms and imagine what it would be like if humans had similar qualities or if we could borrow from these beings and transform the way we physically protect our bodies. Through mixed materials I form adornment that acts as armor and the human being and the sea creature merge. The following pages will give you access to my thought process, accounts of technical experimentation, and my body of work.

This master thesis focuses on body modifications, mainly tattooing. The aim is to present the tattooing in a broader context and show its link to many aspects of people's lives that was evident especially in traditional tribal societies before the colonization era. The attention is paid to the Maori culture and the Marquesas Islands because their tattoos used to have high art value and formed the inseparable part of the inhabitants' lives. At the same time it describes the up-to-date situation in the western culture, where the body modification is very popular. It also mentions the current tattoo projects happening in the Czech Republic. Information are taken from several books available in Czech, especially the work written by Martin Rychlík "Tetování, skarifikace a jiné zdobení těla" and many electronic books in English. Information about the tattoo and body art news comes from the websites where the interested people meet and write their observations and articles about the present events. The conclusion shows that body modifications and body adornments are as old as a mankind. They appear in all cultures and do not have only the aesthetic function. They are the important source of information about social position, family relation, wealth, past experience, etc. Tattoos and the other body...