Visitors to this year’s JORVIK Viking Festival may leave with more than just wooden swords and shields, as professional artists prepare to create permanent Norse-inspired tattoos in the heart of the city. In a new partnership with Northern Black, organisers of the Jorvik Tattoo Moot, the festival’s living history encampment on Parliament Street will host a special tattoo tent where the public can watch ancient art come to life.
The tent will feature guest artists from Brazil, Germany, and Denmark performing “hand-poking,” a traditional technique that predates modern tattoo machines by thousands of years. This method uses a single needle and extreme precision to create intricate designs, with some archaeological examples dating back 5,000 years. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the display tent daily to watch the artists at work and track the progress of the skin-based artworks.
Isar Oakmund of Northern Black, who is organising the Jorvik Tattoo Moot, commented: “We’re very excited to be bringing a taste of the Tattoo Moot right into the heart of the Festival this year, so that people can watch the skin-based artworks being created – and hopefully return throughout the day to see the progress. There will be a number of slots available for those wishing to be a human canvas – perhaps one of the most memorable ways to get a tattoo!”
While the live display takes place on Parliament Street, the wider Jorvik Tattoo Moot will run from 18–22 February at Merchant Taylors Hall on Aldgate and Bedern Hall on St Andrewgate. The event will host 32 artists specialising in Nordic heritage designs, and those wishing to book a session are advised to reserve a spot online.
For those who admire the artwork but prefer a less permanent souvenir, Isar has also designed the official JORVIK Viking Festival t-shirt. Mark Jackson of York Archaeology commented: “Isar has a global reputation for his artwork, with many tattoo artists around the world drawing inspiration from his books when crafting their own designs. He has created a wonderful image of a dragon curled around some of York’s iconic buildings for the Festival t-shirt – and all profits from the sale of the t-shirts will go towards the cost of staging the myriad free events taking place during the Festival.”
The t-shirts will be available in the living history encampment and the JORVIK Viking Centre shop throughout the festival.
