In Estonia, tattoos have ceased to be a marginal sign and have become an object of academic interest. This is according to Oskar Poll, a tattoo artist and researcher of local tattoo culture, who has been working in a studio for about ten years and simultaneously studying how motifs, techniques, and the profession of tattoo artist itself have transformed over the past decades. Poll received his bachelor’s degree in graphic arts from the Estonian Academy of Arts, and dedicated both his bachelor’s and master’s theses to the history of tattooing in Estonia. He is now developing the topic in his doctoral dissertation, and it is this scientific perspective that allows him to see the bigger picture beyond just a craftsman working with skin.
What Was Drawn in Soviet Times
For his master’s thesis, Poll photographed tattoos from the Soviet era and collected information on when, where, and under what circumstances they were applied. According to his observations, maritime themes dominated at that time – anchors, ships, seagulls, and related imagery. Portraits and silhouettes of women formed a separate group. The researcher explains this connection by the cultural context: in the West, tattoo culture remained predominantly male for a long time, as it was tied to male subcultures, and this is why men often transferred images of women onto their bodies. In the Soviet environment, tattoos were noticeably rarer among women than today, which makes the current shift in the gender structure of the audience particularly striking.
The typical set of Soviet motifs was quite stable and included:
- maritime symbols – anchors, ships, seagulls;
- skulls and roses;
- cats and other “classic” animals;
- military атрибутика;
- images of women.
The Transitional Period and the Birth of Studios
In his doctoral dissertation, Poll focused on the turning point – the 1990s, when the first professional tattoo artists and specialized studios appeared in Estonia. He examines where the artists got their machines and other equipment, and how the very idea of working as a tattoo artist on a permanent basis arose – a profession that had practically not existed as a separate activity before. This transition from underground and random application of designs to a conscious craft environment became a key stage in the legitimization of tattoos in the country.
Tools and Technologies
According to Poll’s assessment, the main difference between modern tattoos and Soviet ones is a much wider choice of motifs, largely due to the internet and access to global references. If previously the repertoire was limited to a narrow circle of “proven” subjects, today an artist and client can draw on a global visual pool. The researcher also notes the evolution of tools: in Soviet times, homemade machines were used for some time in prison conditions, and before that, tattoos were done with a needle and ordinary ink. Today, full-fledged tattoo machines are used, which radically changes the speed, quality, and hygiene of the process.
From the perspective of tattoo culture as a whole, the case of Estonia well illustrates the general path of many post-Soviet countries: from a stigmatized “prisoner’s” mark through the grey zone of the 90s to a full-fledged creative profession with academic understanding. The fact that the history of tattooing is being studied here at the doctoral dissertation level indicates that the practice has finally emerged from the shadows and become part of visual culture worthy of documentation and analysis.