A message on your body: Wellington flash tattoo event raises awareness for native birds

Friday, 13 September 2019

Emma ten Have is organising a tattoo event to raise awareness for native bird conservation.

What's the best way to help New Zealand's struggling native bird populations? Get a tattoo.

A freshly-inked kea on masters student Emma ten Have's left arm is the first of her native bird tattoo designs to go on skin.

More will follow: she's turned 15 other native birds into designs for people to have inked on themselves at the upcoming flash tattoo event ExtINKtion.

Emma ten Have is organising an event where people can get native bird tattoos to highlight their conservation status.

Born out of her Masters of Science in Society at Victoria University, ten Have's event – to be held on September 22 – centres around telling conservation stories through tattoos, as well as raising money for Zealandia and Forest and Bird.

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Emma ten Have hopes the tattoos will spark conversations about protecting our native birds.

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The kea tattoo Emma ten Have has had done ahead of the event.

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'You don't often use bodies to communicate science, it's a bit unusual,' she said.

Each of her 16 tattoo designs - from kea to native robins and the kākāpō – carry an acronym denoting the conservation status of the bird – anything from nationally endangered to recovered.

People are encouraged to get them on a visible part of their body and as they head out into the world, ten Have said the plan was for them to take the story of New Zealand's native birds too.

'You usually get a tattoo for a reason – it's a nice anchor to something you care about a lot.'

With a conservation message inked directly on their bodies, ten Have said it would spread far beyond the bounds of the event.

After all, anyone the tattooed people came in contact with would have the chance to ask about the bird designs: from a checkout operator at the supermarket to their own grandmother.

ExtINKtion, which is running during Conservation Week, has already drawn of attention online with about 1000 people interested in the event on Facebook.

'It spiralled out of control a bit,' ten Have said.

Tucked away down Chews Lane in the CBD, The Hudson will throw open its doors for the event.

Garage Project has donated beer for the day and if you're not keen for a permanent tattoo, there are temporary ones available for sale, as well as posters featuring the bird designs.

Four tattoo artists from Kakapo Ink studio have volunteered their time for the day. Ten Have approached the Wellington studio for two reasons: firstly, the name and secondly, because she liked the kaupapa of the studio, which has an emphasis on tattooing first-timers and women.

Ten Have said there would be space for about 30 tattoos – costing between $100 and $120 – on the day, but there would also be 50 tattoo vouchers available, so people could get them done at a later date at Kakapo Ink's Cuba St studio.

* ExtINKtion will be held from 11am at The Hudson on Chews Lane. For more details and to see all the bird designs, visit the event's Facebook page: ExtINKtion

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