Ink: The Art of Mark-Making | Carlos Bautista

Ink: The Art of Mark-Making presents work by Carlos Bautista, a Mexico City-born artist drawing on the landscapes and traditions of Oaxaca (State of Mexico). He brings together ink, paper, and skin in a thoughtful exploration of contemporary and ancestral mark-making. The project combines printmaking and live tattooing to reflect on the body as both a surface and a site of meaning.

Through both prints and tattoo performance, Bautista explores themes of nature, transformation, and memory. His practice connects personal and cultural histories, with each mark - on skin or paper - carrying narratives shaped by place and time. The exhibition invites audiences to consider how symbols and stories are carried across generations and ancestors, and how the act of marking can embed intimacy and meaning in place.

Exhibitions launch 6pm Friday 19 September 2025 Speeches from approx. 6:30pm.

Umbrella Floortalk 9:30am Saturday 27 September 2025

Please note: Umbrella will be closed for exhibitions install from 1pm Sunday 14 September until the exhibitions launch 6pm Friday 19 September. Umbrella's usual opening hours will then resume.

This exhibition is presented at Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts by the North Australian Festival of Arts. 

Image: Carlos Bautista, Camino Maguey. Photograph courtesy the artist and North Australian Festival of Arts.