National Geographic Photo Gallery: Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body ArtPhotographer: Chris Rainer

Click to enlarge this photograph of a tattooed man at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada. Burning Man Festival, Nevada
Elaborate religious tattoos adorn a man at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. He is a follower of the Modern Primitivism movement, part of a subculture that includes extensive tattooing and piercing. Modern Primitivists believe body markings and other tribal traditions help reconnect them to the world and emphasize their own identity.

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Click to view photograph of a scarred man from Burkina Faso Click to view a photograph of a tattooed man at the Burning Man Festival, Nevada.
 Click to see a photograph of tattooed Maori gang members, New Zealand Click to view a photograph of a tattooed yakuza gang member, Japan. Click to view a photograph of tattooed ''modern primitives'' in California. Click to view a photograph of tattooed twin Cuna Indians, Panama. Click to view a photograph of a tattooed Coptic Christian woman, Ethiopia. Click to view a photograph of a tattooed Maori Chief, New Zealand. Click to view a photograph of a Mursi woman with face markings and a lip plate in Ethiopia. Click to view a photograph of nude women with temporary tattoos bathing in Brazil. Click to view a photograph of a nude Samoan man with tribal tattooing.
Click here to learn about photographer Chris Rainier. Click here for a look at the book ''National Geographic Photographs: Then and Now.'' Click here for Web links on tattoos, piercings, and other body art Credits for National Geographic's tattoos, piercings, and body markings gallery