On May Stay Stoned: Madness, Cannabis & Tattoos opened its doors to the public in Barcelona!
This exhibition explores the crossover of two previously controversial topics: cannabis and tattoos. It showcases a bold and colourful variety of original art and flash tattoo designs.
Tattooing and cannabis use have both been part of human cultures for thousands of years, whether for ceremonial or recreational purposes, but it wasn’t until the early 1970s that tattoos displaying one’s love for cannabis started to appear. Smiling weed leaves, stoned cartoon characters, the Zig-Zag Man (marihuana’s enigmatic answer to the Marlboro Man), and pin-up girls on cannabis flowers, joints and bongs have been popular subjects for permanent decoration since these revolutionary years.
According to museum founder Ben Dronkers, cannabis tattoos can be
…a declaration of love, a rebellious statement, a token of freedom, an activist act, or maybe even a hazy decision, it is quite something to get a permanent and visible marker of love for the plant’.
This exhibition, which was previously on view in our museum in Amsterdam, showcases a new collection of cannabis tattoo art from the book Stay Stoned Vol. II., compiled by tattoo experts Gilberto Cannarozzi and Samuele ‘Sem Boy’ Salvadori (published 2022).
Source: HEMP Newsletter