Is that a severed hand or are you just happy to see me?

Tattoo by Charley Gerardin

Check out Thing Gallery, where tattoo artists tattoo silicone hands for display. It started as a one-off charity event and turned into a long-standing gallery show.

On February 26th, Fareed Kaviani presented an exhibition of tattooed silicone hands and sheets at Melbourne’s Neon Parlour. All profits from the sale of the tattooed silicone went to SafeSteps and WIRE, two Melbourne based organisations dedicated to providing support to women and children experiencing domestic violence.

With support from INKED magazine, Things & Ink, Melbourne Permanent, Sailor Jerry, Protat (who donated $500 to the charities), Temple Brewery, Mulbury, Daseti, and Metal Couture, the event was a unique opportunity to view the work of many world-renowned artists such as Sasha Unisex, Grace Neutral, Guy Le Tatooer, and David Cote, including national talents such as Alvaro Flores, Matt Deverson, Lauren Winzer, and Mel Wink.

Each silicone hand was individually moulded from a unique cast of Fareed’s hand. With no prior knowledge of prosthetics or experience making moulds or using silicone, the process was one of trial and a shit load of error. Initially, the idea was to make one hand and write a ‘how to’ piece for INKED magazine, however, after investing over 3 months researching materials, contacting professionals, and sitting through hours of YouTube tutorials, Fareed felt like an article would be a premature ending. Plus, he didn’t want to part with his newfound skills in silicone moulding that easily. So, naturally, he contacted over 30 international, national, and local tattooists asking if they were interested in tattooing a hand or sheet that we could sell to raise funds for two incredibly important organisations, Safesteps and WIRE. And you can’t exactly say no to that! Lo and behold, these artists refused to shy away from the challenge and instead dedicated their time and demonstrated their artistic talent to create a beautiful and curious array of tattooed extremities and sheets.

Tattoo by Sam Kane

With the exhibition complete, Fareed decided to continue Thing Gallery by commissioning artists to tattoo hands for the public to purchase through the website (www.thinggallery.com). Artists currently tattooing a Thing include:

Guy Le Tatooer guyletatooer.com
Jorge Ramirez @jorgeramireztattoo
Vond Barta @vondtattoo
Mel Wink @smel_wink
Gakkin @gakkinx
Fergus Simms @fergus_simms
Nic Tse @jynt
Oozy @oozy_tattoo
Or Kantor @om_kantor
Amy Unalome @amy_unalome_tattoo
Elric Gordon @elriccfh
William Jellman @pastilliam
Tim Tavaria @timtavaria
Matt Deverson @mattdeversontattoo
Zane Donnellan @gooneytoons_str
Onnie O’leary @onnieolearytattoo
Eugene Plotnikov @yeahgnar
Hannah Pixie @blackstabbathofficial
Russell Winter @russellxwinter
Leonie New @leonienewtattoos
Mav @maverickreevetattoo
Emmet @emmet_jace_tattoos
Adrian @edekqwerty
Blair @blair_maxine_hewitt
Sasha Masiuk @sashatattooing
Damien Thorn @damien.j.thorn
Ishi Neve @ishi_neve

Thing Gallery also provides gallery quality tattooable hands and sheets direct to the public.

Thing Gallery have an exciting new project in the works featuring Hannah Pixie Snow, VICE magazine, and a full-sized silicone head! So follow their Instagram page @thinggallery for updates.

The single hands are current exhibited pieces, for sale in their gallery.