Cave

Exhibition authors: Franka Iskra and Leo Subanović

Since the earliest times, caves have been places of shelter and community, while tattoos have marked the body as a space of personal and spiritual significance. Both reflect a deep human need to leave our mark.

This form of individual expression has existed since prehistoric times, in both examples: through cave paintings as some of the earliest forms of decorating the home, and through tattooing the body. The combination of clothing, tattoos and the concept of the “second skin” with the metaphor of the cave reveals that the human need to create, protect and leave a mark has archaeological, cultural and psychological roots.

By connecting garments with the concept of the cave, external and internal aspects of expression are brought together. Wearing a tattoo or a particular type of clothing metaphorically represents an inner, protective space. Today, tattoos represent a visual autobiography, while the design of the home becomes an extension of one’s own psyche.

In both cases, the same need is present: to express oneself, leave a mark and create one’s own world.