Emmanuel Item was first exposed to tattoo culture while playing guitar in a Viennese heavy metal band.
Item, who is of Nigerian and Austrian descent, originally liked drawing on sketchpads, but after seeing a band member with a tattoo of the head of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha, he decided to transfer his art from paper to skin.
That decision paid off. Ten years later, he has tattooed more than 500 people with designs steeped in his Nigerian heritage, and at the end of October his work was recognized with an award for an artist residency in Vienna run by the African Cultural Foundation.
The then 19-year-old began researching the origins of body art after first deciding to work with tattoos. That led me to the traditional images used by the Igbo people of Nigeria. “That’s how I discovered Uli and Nsibidi design,” says Item, now 30. “This discovery also answered my desire to connect with my roots through my art.”
Uli is made up of curves, lines, and abstract shapes drawn on the body and murals. Originating in eastern Nigeria, women traditionally became Uri artists, decorating each other with intricate designs using dyes extracted from plants. Nsibidi is a writing system that dates back hundreds of years and originated in Cross River State in southern Nigeria and Cameroon. This inspired one of the written lines in the 2018 film “Black Panther.”
Iheaney Igboko is the Executive Director of the Memory Center in Enugu, Nigeria, which is dedicated to documenting and presenting the history and culture of the Igbo people. He told CNN that Uri and Nsibidi “represent the convergence of art, identity and socio-cultural meaning in their respective societies.”
Igboko explained that the Uri murals are also painted on shrines dedicated to Ara (Igbo earth goddess), reinforcing the link between art, spirituality and environmental harmony. Although uri declined during the colonial period, it has undergone a major revitalization in contemporary Nigerian art.
He added that Nsibidi is not a decorative art form, but primarily functions as a graphic system of communication. It is closely associated with the Ekpe (Leopard) secret society, whose members used it for law enforcement, social regulation, ritual transmission, and historical record-keeping.
Along with Uri, Nsibidi began to decline in Nigeria due to the introduction of Christianity and the imposition of Western education during the colonial period.
Curious to learn more about these forms, Item began annual visits with his father to his ancestral village, Afikpo, in Ebonyi State, eastern Nigeria. “I looked for visuals that I could infuse into my work from traditional fabrics, architecture, and traditional tattoos,” he said. “I try to understand the reasoning behind the lines, stars, curves, motifs, and overall look of the design. I then use more lines and geometry to create pieces in contemporary forms based on the knowledge I have gained.”
With his newfound knowledge, Item returned to Vienna and began reviving these art forms as inspiration for tattoos and helping people of African heritage connect with their roots.
“Some of them have never been to Africa, so they are looking for some meaningful connection to their culture,” he explains. “Some people have been away for a long time, and tattooing is another way to reconnect with that.”
Igboko describes Item’s work as transforming the human body into a living archive, a site of memory and identity.
“At the Center, our motto is ‘Maka ụnyaa, taa na echi’ (yesterday, today and tomorrow) and Item’s work speaks directly to that,” he said. “Each tattoo becomes a personal yet communal statement, reconnecting people, especially those in the diaspora, with the philosophy and aesthetics of their traditions. His art goes beyond ornamentation and becomes a form of storytelling and cultural continuation.”
He has created nearly 100 designs of his own, and his work continues to evolve, incorporating elements from across West Africa, including designs from Ivory Coast’s hand-painted kolhogo cloth, which infuses figurative motifs with intricate patterns.
His long-term goal is to establish a hub in Vienna where people can learn more about Africa through tattoos, books, and art. “I want Africans in the diaspora to have a place to connect with their roots,” Item said.
Item’s residency with five other BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists will take place from November 1 to December 31, 2025 at the NIA Empowerment Space in Vienna, where he will work and share his practice.
