In 1979, Polaroid presented a 20x24 inch camera constructed by Edwin Land for the first time. By using an image transfer film, this wooden gadget – with 1.50 meters in height and a weight of 106 kilos – delivered giant instant prints of impressive quality. Assisted by Polaroid-experts like the chief operator Jan Hnizdo, selected photographers were invited to work with the camera and appropriate film material in the 1970s and 1980s. One of them was Sandi Fellman, who travelled to Tokyo several times since 1982 to produce a series of photographs showing members of the Yakuza with their full-body tattoos.

A purple carp struggles to reach the spring of a waterfall, while a blooming peony adorns the opposite chest. The right biceps sports a horned dragon whose tail ends in a cloudbank on the left arm. The tattooed man only wears a »fundoshi«, the traditional male underwear in Japan.

This specific kind of traditional tattoo-art is called »Kawa« (river) and it is named after the stream of untouched skin that flows in the middle of the chest. The arms and the legs are only half covered by motives, which gives the impression of a vesture made up of a coat and trousers. The large tattoos are rooted in a hundreds of years old tradition and they are an identifying symbol of the Yakuza, a criminal organization often called the »Japanese mafia« that refers to their descent from the gambling syndicates of the Edo period (1603-1868). Their members follow strict rules and ideas of virtue and modesty.

The 20x24 Polacolor Polaroid with its impressive quality of colour and its attention to detail offers a perfect platform for Fellman’s »Modesty«. The vivid colours of the Irezumi tattoos are accentuated by their contrast to the bright gleam of the un-tattooed skin. Contrary to the criticism of their poor quality or the supposedly swift colour fading, the large format instant prints appear as the ideal medium because of their particular consistency. OstLicht Collection holds more than 1,300 Polaroids of this impressive 20x24-inch-format.

Johanna Pröll, © OstLicht

Lit.: Sandi Fellman, D.M. Thomas, The Japanese Tattoo, New York 1986, p. 28–29.