For over three thousand years, Tatau or Tattoos have been an integral part of Pacific Islander Culture. Tatau were more than art for the Tatau signified essentials from genealogy to social status, tying Pacific Islanders to their culture. When colonists arrived in the Pacific Islands, they at first copied the practice, then Christian Missionaries outlawed it from the 1800s all the way to the 1970s, when Pacific Islander culture experienced a revival. Nowadays, in an ironic twist after centuries of cultural destruction by colonial powers, many non-Pacific Islander tourists get tattoos due to the perceived exotic and fetish value.
Recently, a new technology has surfaced called Smart Tattoos, where scientists have been able to basically print circuit boards onto the skin. UCSD and many other universities have already come up with tattoos that can sense the level of a person’s blood sugar from their sweat. Already, this is a health tool that would greatly help the Pacific Islander community considering the prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Pacific Islander groups. In terms of health applications, the possibilities of smart tattoos are theoretically endless. By combining the Tatau Tradition with Smart Tattoos, it is possible to combine form and function to create powerful health devices that are aesthetically pleasing and therefore easily adoptable.
Galindo, Yadira. “UC San Diego News Center.” Clinical Trial Tests Tattoo Sensor as Needleless Glucose Monitor for Diabetes Patients, UC San Diego, 19 Apr. 2018, ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/clinical-trial-tests-tattoo-sensor-as-needleless-glucose-monitor.
However, this can be much more than just making good looking health devices. Though some disagree about the level that outsiders should be allowed to have pacific islander tattoos, I believe that through combining the Tatau tradition and Smart Tattoos with a focus on Pacific Islander health, Pacific Islanders can reclaim tattooing as a cultural practice for their community rather than as a tourist attraction. I have already drafted several conceptual images of Smart Tatau in practice but for Pacific Islanders to truly create Smart Tatau for our communities, it is necessary for various parts of the Pacific Islander community collaborate together and design the future.
If you are interested in more information, please read on:
Smart Tatau 