Tattoo a Banana (Oxidation Art)

In this Instructable I show you how to make a drawing on the peel of a banana. A banana turns brown through a series of chemical reactions called enzymatic browning. By poking the skin of the banana with a needle, this process is locally accelerated, resulting in a brown tip. By making a lot of dots next to each other you can make a drawing on a banana.

Video Tutorial:

• Banana
• Image (printed on paper)
• Adhesive tape
• Needle
• Mechanical pencil
• Patience

Print the image you want to make on the banana on paper. Make sure that the image is the right size, because it must fit on the banana. Cut out the picture and place it in the right place on the banana. Secure the image with adhesive tape, making sure that it is tight and that there are no creases.

Take the needle and put it in the mechanical pencil. The needle you use should be about the same thickness as the pencil leads. Let the needle stick out slightly with the sharp side.

Use your needle to pierce through the paper and into the banana peel. Try to make the puncture as shallow as possible. Repeat this all along the line. Try to keep the dots close together (no more than 1 mm apart). When you have traced all the lines you can remove the image from the banana. Check that all lines are good, you can poke some more holes if necessary.

The image on the banana is now ready. You can now shade or color the image by poking more dots in it or by making scratches in it. This does take some practice before you get it under control. It is advisable to practice a number of "normal" images first.

Have fun making this project!

I am curious about your creations!