Tattoo History

So, one of the ideas for my final project an AFUK is to make a deal out of tattoos.

Inspiration
I remember last year's group of first-year artists. One of them, a big Finnish guy, Mika, had the most gorgeous tattoos on his body. One example is the circles he had down along each of the sides of his spine, going slightly smaller the lower they were placed. Another example is the flowers (I remember being two), one on each shoulder. They weren't in what you would usually classify as bright, flashy colors - more like pastel colors. And he had more.

Why?
What really bothers me is that I didn't really get that many pictures in color of him. When I got near him with a camera in my hand, the filmroll would usually be black and white, and people who have seen him know that he deserves a color filmroll. I really wanted to have a photosession with him and his tattoos - and a color filmroll in my camera. And I have been inspired and thinking about this project ever since.

What?
My idea is to get people with tattoos to tell about their tattoos. Why did they get the tattoo? Does the tattoo have a special meaning, personally as in history? Are there any stories connected to that specific tattoo? Etc. Plus checking a bit up on tattoo history from around the world, just to have that aspect of it, too.
I also thought of doing something similar with scars.

And how does this connect to the circus theme?
Being a circus artist, your body means everything. Tattoos is "just" one kind of body art, which is yet another "just" one aspect of having a body.
One of my schoolmates, Pål, suggested that I did the project with older circus artists. And I've taken it up to consideration.

And the mobility?
I have been thinking about making a shower "booth" on wheels, with one of those shower curtains with pockets for pictures. I would slip down the pictures to be viewed from the outside, and when you enter the booth, you can read the different stories attached to the respective pictures.
As for the shower, I've been considering filling a big watering can with cold water and hanging it in the top of the booth. Then, using a chain or likely, people can pull down its "nose" and chill themselves down.

More info:
http://tattoos.com/jane/steve/toc.htm