International art project to tattoo UN human rights declaration on 30 people in UK

Thirty people are set to get tattoos of one letter of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights made on them as part of an international art project which is coming to the UK for the first time.

The project is aimed at making the tattoo of the 1948 document onto the body of 6,773 people, one letter at a time. The tattoos are 1cm squared, and people between the age of 18 and 30 in the United Kingdom were sent invitations to submit applications to participate, The Guardian reported.

Dutch artist Sander van Bussel started the project in 2012 for raising awareness of the declaration. His work started with the opening phrase of the declaration, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.

ALSO READ |800 tattoos and counting: Mother of two barred from tattoo shops, pubs, and school due to extreme appearance

Van Bussel, who is set to document the personal stories of participants on the day, said: “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written by the United Nations in 1948, wishing to protect humanity from the nightmares of world war two. Now, well over 70 years later, little seems to be left of that hope and the global divide is still growing.”

“Our mission is to use the power of the idea, the imagination and individual decisiveness as a weapon against division and indifference. In today’s world where polarisation on all levels is on the rise, emphasising these fundamental human rights is particularly relevant. Everybody gets one letter. Everybody has their own unique story,” he said, while speaking to The Guardian.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Project to get completed by Universal Declaration of Human Rights Day

The event is being managed and hosted by Manchester Arts venue Contact with Human Rights Tattoo on September 9, and an experienced local tattoo artist will be applying the letters during the day.

Applicants have been asked to speak about what the human rights movement means to them and why they wish to get the declaration tattooed on them, which will be made by Dax, a Manchester-based tattoo artist who is from India and specialises in fine line, single-needle tattoos, and to whom a fee of their choice can be donated by the participants.

WATCH |UN report blows lid off Al-Qaeda's plot to target India

The first 23 articles can be read in tattoos made by over 4,601 participants from 77 countries. Van Bussel is aiming to complete the work on December 10, the day the Universal Declaration of Human Rights celebrates its 75th anniversary, although he intends to build further on his work with events and lectures.

He is hoping that the ink designs will become a conversation starter and will encourage people to reflect on the UN document and its global relevance.

Artistic director and chief executive of Contact Keisha Thompson said that it was an “extraordinary, global project uniting around human rights and connection”, and that the organisation was “over the moon” to host the event.

You cannow write for wionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE