Ungodly Beasts

The chapter and title refer to a specific kind of human zoos: the exhibitions of tattooed people enslaved from the colonies. In these exhibitions, tattoos were narrated as “primitive” and essentialized as non-Western. One of the most infamous examples is "Prince Giolo", a commoner taken from Mindanao (Philippines), who was put on display in London during the late 17th century under the enslavement of William Dampier. This display became a catalyst for a wider trend of showcasing tattooed people across Western Europe and North America, stripped of their dignity and turned into a spectacle.

However, the earliest documented instance of such an exhibition dates back to 1566, the Netherlands. French sailors kidnapped an unnamed tattooed Inuit woman and child and were put on display in The Hague and Antwerp. Woodblock prints have been found to create promotional broadsheets for the display. The broadsheets would describe her tattoos as strange and unnatural, comparing her to "beasts" and describing an "ungodliness." These accounts falsely claimed her traditional markings as barbaric, heathen, signs of cannibalism and to be marked as the property of men. After these exhibitions, the fates of the woman and her child remain unknown.

This altar was made to commemorate their life. We mourn their life. We dignify their life. We carry them forward into our memories.

"Ungodly Beasts" delves into the demonization of tattoo traditions through Christian teachings. Told through fourteen tapestries suspended in the former chapel, the story refers to historical instances of the demonization of tattoo traditions. Yet, they also tell of hope and reclamation as ancestors speak towards their descendants. The installation was activated through gatherings and rituals.