Thailand tattoo – Tom Vater

Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat at the National Museum of Thailand on June 15th!

June 3, 2011June 19, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Tom Vater and Aroon Thaewchatturat will be giving a talk on the history and the contemporary significance of Sak Yant, Thailand´s Spirit Tattoos for the National Museum in Thailand on June 15th. As tradition dictates, the talk, accompanied by a slide show of images from their forth-coming book Sacred Skin, will only be open to […]

Sacred Skin – Photo Spread and Review in TIME Magazine!

May 13, 2011May 16, 2011tomLeave a Comment

“….Thai photographer Aroon’s portraits record (sak yant) in hypnotic detail….stunning photos and exuberant writing…” Read Andrew Marshall‘s excellent review Luck of the Draw – A Tribute to Thailand’s Sacred Tattoos, of my new book, Sacred Skin (with Aroon Thaewchatturat) in next week’s edition of TIME Magazine (Asia and South Pacific Editions) or on the TIME […]

“…stunning photos and exuberant writing…” Tom Vater’s Sacred Skin reviewed in TIME

May 13, 2011May 13, 2011tomLeave a Comment

Sacred Skin – Thailand’s Spirit Tattoos, my new book with photographer Aroon Thaewchatturat, has been reviewed by Andrew Marshall in TIME Magazine. Marshall offers an excellent summary of the Sak Yant (sacred tattoo) tradition in Thailand today and describes the book as containing “stunning photos and exuberant writing”. Read the full TIME review here!

From the Archives: Wai Khru Day – The Wat Bang Phra Tattoo Festival in Thailand

February 27, 2010May 15, 2011tom3 Comments

Every year in March, thousands of Buddhist devotees gather at a temple an hour west of Bangkok to worship and celebrate one of Thailand’s strangest cults: At Wat Bang Phra, Buddhist monks use long needles to tattoo magic images and prayers on the believers’ skin. The tattoos are believed to give the wearer protection, especially […]

The Pain Of Vegetables – The Phuket Vegetarian Festival, in Untamed Travel Magazine

November 11, 2003May 31, 2022tomLeave a Comment

The Vegetarian Festival on the tourist island of Phuket in Southern Thailand is a truly bizarre occasion. Men and women, ostensibly possessed by gods, pierce their tongues and cheeks with sharp implements. Adepts apparently feel no pain, and show little no sign of real injury. The young man wears only shorts. He is drenched […]