Koningin van de Caroline-eilanden 1822

Jacques Etienne Victor Arago made this print, "Queen of the Caroline Islands," using etching and engraving techniques. The image shows a woman adorned with tattoos, which must have required a great deal of time and skill to apply. Consider these tattoos as a form of making, with the body as the artist’s canvas. The patterns, carefully inscribed on the skin, transform the body into a living artwork. The print participates in a long history of European artists depicting Indigenous peoples. Here, the graphic medium is itself part of the story, as this etching would have been relatively easy to reproduce and circulate. This is itself a kind of labor; the work of the printmaker facilitating the distribution of such images, reflecting the dynamics of colonialism and representation that were very much in play at the time. Recognizing these processes helps us to understand the complex social and cultural meanings embedded in this image, and to look beyond conventional distinctions between fine art, craft, and the politics of representation.