Australian born artist Dietrich Wegner’s Cumulous Brand is a series of sculptures and photos in which babies (real and silicone models) are covered in multicolored tattoos in a meditation on how our identities evolve and how we declare them.

Dietrich Wegner Cumulous Brand

Sculptures:
Cumulous Brand
silicone & foam, 14 x 12 x 7 in

Cumulous Brand, Sebastian As Grandma Susan
silicone, human hair, glass eyes & foam, 17 x 15 x 10 in

Cumulous Brand, Bill
silicone & urethane, 12″ x 8″ x 8″

Clay modeling or the above sculptures was created by Julia Ambrose of Toolmark Studio and Barbara Wegner

In the following photos, the initial child photography is by Mark Fainstein and the ‘tattoos’ are digitally applied by Dietrich Wegner.

Digitally Altered Photos (inket prints):
Cumulous Brand, Sabine & Sebastian,
inkjet print 30″ x 45″ & 40″ x 60″

Cumulous Brand, Sabine Sitting Up
inkjet print, 30″ x 45″ & 40″ x 60″

Cumulous Brand, Sebastian as Grandma Sue
inkjet print, 30″ x 45″ & 40″ x 60″

Cumulous Brand, Sebastian as Auntie Gretchen
inkjet print, 30″ x 45″ & 40″ x 60″

Cumulous Brand, Claudia, Beatrice & Sebastian
inkjet print, 30″ x 37″ & 40″ x 50″

Cumulous Brand, Beatrice
inkjet print, 30″ x 45″ & 40″ x 60″

Cumulous Brand, Sebastian in the Park
inkjet print, 25″ x 17″ & 44″ x 30″

Deitrich Wegner has other interesting art projects as well, see them all here.

all images courtesy of the artist

A big shout out to Inhabitots for bringing this unusual work to my attention.

This is not the first tattooed baby art project I’ve blogged about. Be sure to check out the Drill Baby by Jason Clay Lewis: