When
Carl Whittaker's father was dying of cancer in 1999, he made an unusual
request: he asked that his tattoos (acquired after he learned that he had
terminal cancer) be removed from his body and saved. When his father died,
Carl followed his father's request: he asked a taxidermist to remove his
father's tattoos so that they could be preserved by a hide-tanning
company.
"I thought it was a bit on the wild
side myself," Whittaker told reporters in Australia. "But that's
what he wanted, and I had a lot of respect for the man, so I did it. I
suppose it preserves his memory."
When the skin was tanned,
Whittaker took a final step in their preservation: the four tattoos are
now framed and hanging in his dining room. The tattoos, removed from his
father's back and arm, include a large eagle battling a snake.
"You've got your fors and against, and
a lot of people are quite horrified by it all - they look and say 'Oh my
God,'" he continued. "The people that know me just know it was
out of respect for my old man, because he was my best mate."
One day Whittaker plans to
give the framed tattoos to his daughter as a memorial to her grandfather.
