Surrealist Tattoos

Gallery of surrealist tattoos that can be filtered by subject, body part and size.

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Tattoo artists

Michele Volpi · mfoxdone
room Bologna
240
Tattoos
281
likes
81
followers
Contemporary
Line Art
+5

Contact

Shindadone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
31
Tattoos
7
likes
8
followers
Illustrative
Blackwork
+5

Contact

Lillian "Honeybadger" Chendone
room Hillsborough
21
Tattoos
0
likes
2
followers
Line Art
Line Art
+60

Contact

Pepo Errandodone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
5
Tattoos
6
likes
4
followers
Blackwork
Illustrative
+10

Contact

eXomorphdone
room Berlin
5
Tattoos
6
likes
5
followers
Abstract
Geometric
+7

Contact

Hey.Nortedone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
4
Tattoos
6
likes
3
followers
Blackwork
Line Art
+9

Contact

Benny Tattooerdone
room Barcelona 🇪🇸
4
Tattoos
6
likes
3
followers
Neo Japanese
Japanese · Irezumi
+13

Contact

Tyler ATDdone
room Whistler
15
Tattoos
15
likes
7
followers
Black and grey
Illustrative
+4

Contact

Charlotte Chadeaudone
room Marseille
9
Tattoos
6
likes
15
followers
Watercolor
Realism
+2

Contact

Leah Caldieridone
room Turners Falls 🇺🇸
59
Tattoos
0
likes
10
followers
Dotwork
Surrealism
+6

Contact

Aleksy Marcinówdone
room London 🇬🇧 · On the road
173
Tattoos
137
likes
50
followers
Surrealism
Contemporary
+1

Contact

David Côtédone
room Montreal
443
Tattoos
679
likes
178
followers
Surrealism
Abstract
+2

Contact

Loïc LeBeufdone
room Geneva 🇨🇭 · Carouge
258
Tattoos
356
likes
104
followers
Blackwork
Engravings
+1

Contact

Mariñe Perezdone
room Bilbao 🇪🇸
56
Tattoos
32
likes
17
followers
Illustrative
Surrealism
+1

Contact

Joanna Świrska · Dżo Lamadone
room Wroclaw
130
Tattoos
125
likes
28
followers
Contemporary
Illustrative
+2

Contact

Alex Young · Odisydone
room London 🇬🇧
33
Tattoos
23
likes
33
followers
Blackwork
Illustrative
+1

Contact

Michele Servadiodone
room London 🇬🇧
51
Tattoos
46
likes
21
followers
Blackwork
Illustrative
+1

Contact

Andrew Marsh · Little Andydone
room Redditch
185
Tattoos
168
likes
50
followers
Surrealism
Abstract
+2

Contact

description

Surrealism style consists of exaggerated and imaginary images, mashed up styles, and fantastical creations that couldn't actually exist in real life, but look like they could.

Surrealism combines dreams with reality, following some but not all of the real world laws or physics. Surrealists often put realistic characters in illogical or impossible circumstances.

Following the first World War in Europe and America, artists and modern psychologists began to study “shell shock” and PTSD, where mass trauma triggered many people to simultaneously experience reality in a different way from their peers. This shift in philosophy resulted in a more widespread acceptance of a person’s cognitive dissonance with reality.

In this way, Surrealism is regarded as a social and cultural revolution, pushing for the human imagination to have the right to alter what is “true” or “real.”

Politically, early Surrealists were split between Marxist and anarchist ideologies. Manifestos by rivaling Surrealists emerged during this time, touting the philosophical necessity of abandoning reason when confronting reality. Communists, such as Surrealist leader Andre Breton of France, tended to take the collective experience of the proletariat and represent it in a way that rejected bourgeois ideals. Anarchists, on the other hand, advocated for complete chaos, not prioritizing any one group’s assertion of reality.

The Golden Age of Surrealism immediately preceded WWII, with artists like Salvador Dali and Marcel Duchamp entering the movement. During this time, the creative focus was largely on the experience of the individual’s psychological inner world. New developments in photography also allowed for new conversations about how to physically represent “reality.”

WWII and Post-War periods returned to a strong presence of global politics in surrealist art. Some Golden Age Surrealists also abandoned the movement and joined other contemporary art movements. As a result, there was a lot of aesthetic and conceptual overlap between Post-War Surrealism and Cubism or Expressionism.

Contemporary Surrealist tattooers sometimes adapt from masters, but also often keep the aesthetic traditions alive with their own voices and original works of art.

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