Born in 1976, French-British photographer Cedric Arnold first picked up a 35mm camera at university, whilst studying linguistics and history in Paris. He quickly turned most of his attention to photography and filmmaking, taking extra credits in printmaking, the history of cinema, and documentary filmmaking.
After graduating, Cedric moved to London to present his work. He started freelancing for agencies and magazines, splitting his time between London and Northern Ireland, later joining the agency Sygma. Trips to Thailand and Cambodia soon persuaded him that a move to South East Asia was what he wanted. Cedric eventually made Bangkok his base in late 2001, and has since been producing work for international publications as well as for exhibits; working with clients such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, the Rotary Foundation, Cartier, and The National Geographic Channel.
The ‘Sacred Ink’ project was photographed with a wide array of camera systems ranging from large format to Polaroid cameras as well as square format and modified cameras
Yantra tattooing, also called sak yant (Thai: สักยันต), is a form of sacred tattooing practiced in Southeast Asian countries including Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. Sak means "to tap [tattoo]", and yant, derived from the Sanskrit word yantra, means "sacred geometrical design."
Sak yant designs are normally tattooed by wicha (magic) practitioners and Buddhist monks, traditionally with a long bamboo stick sharpened to a point (called a mai sak) or alternatively with a long metal spike (called a khem sak).
