Curator’s choice

The ground-breaking exhibition Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed was only possible due to the passion and knowledge of individual collectors, and the objects they saved. Without them, all this material – and the social history it represents – would have been lost. The exhibition features items from three of the most important private collections of…

A sneaky peak at this unique installation Tattoos are a living and uniquely three dimensional form of art. The museum responded to this by commissioning an innovative installation which literally brings the art off the gallery wall to create a ‘sculptural map’ of British tattoo art today. The ‘100 Hands’, curated by Alice Snape of ‘Things and…

What does Conrad think of our replica Bounty launch built in-house at the museum? Conrad Humphrey’s is a competitive sailor and professional skipper onboard the ambitious recreation of Bligh’s legendary journey for Channel 4 programme ‘Mutiny.’ Here he talks about one of his highlights in our Captain Bligh exhibition.

A modern master chooses his exhibition highlights Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed features over 400 artefacts and artworks including memorabilia donated by legend Alex Binnie from his iconic shop ‘Into You’ (now sadly closed) described by Alex as the first real custom tattoo shop in London. ‘It’s a recent history if you will,’ says Alex…

Lal on why this exhibition is so important One of the masters, tattoo artist Lal Hardy on British Tattoo Art Revealed, the exhibition at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, one of the largest of its kind. Lal Hardy was born in 1958 and, has spent most of his time since living and working…

The Myth, The Man and Mutiny In this video, guest curator, Dr Pieter van der Merwe, General Editor and Curator Emeritus at the National Maritime Museum, Royal Museums Greenwich, introduces some of the highlights of one of our major temporary exhibitions for 2017, Captain Bligh: Myth, Man and Mutiny. Like this? Want to know more?…

Challenging ideas about how far back tattooing goes in our culture Co-curator and Head of Public Programming at The National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Stuart Slade, chooses one of his favourite objects in British Tattoo Art Revealed, the largest exhibition of it’s kind in the UK. A genuinely ground-breaking and comprehensive history of British tattooing, featuring…

Conrad chooses his highlights from our exhibition Conrad Humphreys  is a competitive sailor, who’s sailed around the world three times in some of the sailing world’s most famous races. Conrad was the professional skipper onboard the ambitious recreation of Bligh’s legendary small boat journey for the Channel 4 programme ‘Mutiny.’ In this short video Conrad…

“Tattooing is a magical, romantic, exciting and often-misunderstood art-form, and this exhibition aims to communicate some of that magic to visitors.” Dr Matt Lodder. Guest curator Dr Matt Lodder introduces the thinking behind Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed, the largest exhibition of its kind in the UK. Matt is currently Director of American Studies at the…