Vita brevis, ars longa …

A retired history teacher is donating his tattooed body to an art gallery.

Geoff Ostling, 65, is virtally covered in colourful depictions of exotic flowers after a 15 year collaboration with acclaimed cult tattooist, eX de Merci.

Covering every part of his body, save for his face, neck and parts of his forearms, Mr Ostling’s tattoos are on the theme of “all the flowers of a Sydney garden”.

He said: “I wanted something unique so I thought about a garden of plants, of natives and imported flowers, what you would find in a Sydney garden with a distant view of the city from Heartbreak Hill.”

Mr Ostling has pledged to donate his skin to Canberra’s National Gallery after his death.

“To donate skin is not the most amazing thing in the world but the tattoos are revolutionary,” he said.

Tattooed man donates skin to art

Well, since this Australia-related, it of course brought to mind this old song.

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By the way, Autumn shared some of her tattoo experience on these pages here, here, here and here.