In New Zealand’s national museum, master Māori tattoo artists painstakingly apply ink to the faces of eight men and women as a large crowd watches on.
Thin lines spiral over the men’s cheeks, dipping towards the jaw and up over the forehead, while lines curl around the women’s chins – each mark telling the story of its wearer’s identity, lineage and experience. Surrounding them are their families, who sing and grip their hands as they lay still under the needle and weight of the sacred – and usually private – ceremony.
