Contemporary printmaker Tama Sharman’s 1999Pacific Transformer linocuts explore the idea that male spiritual identity can be expressed through iconographic tattooing. This powerful work is an account of the negotiation required to live between worlds – such as moving between cultures, the integration of self and culture, and being Takatapui or queer/transgender in a culturally Pacific sense. Sharman’s ultimate vision is for his imagery to be applied to his skin.
