AN artist has covered his entire body in tattoos as a demonstration against animal abuse.
Controversial artist Alfredo Meschi has left no patch of skin untouched claiming that his body art symbolises a “permanent performance piece” for animal liberation.
Meschi, who comes from a family of fisherman and hunters, has inked his skin with 40,000 “cruelty-free” cross marks to signify animal suffering.
He said: “We live in a society built on endless, self-inflicted amnesia. It’s as if our awareness of injustice, compassion, and empathy is a switch that gets turned on and off.”
“And every second, no less than 40,000 animals are killed for the sole purpose of satisfying our appetite. I wanted to capture that and preserve it forever on my skin.”
It is not the only shocking stunt Meschi has done in the past few years.
In a series of attempts to get attention for animal rights he has gone from one extreme to another.
He wore a cattle tag in one of his ears for a photo shoot inside a slaughterhouse and dunked himself in freezing sea water to highlight overfishing.