Widow has dead husband ‘skinned’ so she can hang his tattoos on wall

A widow will have her dead husband skinned so she can hang his tattoos on the wall.

When tattoo artist Chris Wenzel, 41, knew he was going to die, he asked his wife Cheryl if his ink-adorned skin could be removed and preserved before he was buried.

He wanted his children and grandchildren to be able to admire the artwork for years after he had gone.

Cheryl, Saskatoon, Canada, from told The Globe and Mail: "I thought, that's different, but yeah, that's cool. I don't care what it takes I'm going to get this done for him.

"You can hang a picture on a wall. A tattoo is something that has been done for hundreds of years. It's just preserving it."

According to CTV Saskatoon, he had been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis - a disease that causes a fast or irregular heartbeat. He died in his sleep in October after complaining of chest pains.

His devoted wife discovered a family business in the US that specialises in preserving tattoos of the dead.

Kyle Sherwood, who runs the company with his dad told CTV Saskatoon: “Tattoos, you know, tell a story about a person.

“And for someone to get something tattooed on them that they’re displaying for life, you know, means something to them. You wouldn’t burn or bury a Picasso and that’s what some of these pieces are.”

Save My Ink Forever will spend around three months working Chris's body which involves a complicated and surgical process. According to Kyle, this is the largest tattoo preservation ever to be done in North America.

Chris owned and tattooed at Electric Underground Tattoo and did his first tattoo when he was just seven years old after his aunt let him loose on her skin.

He was respected for his art throughout the city, fellow artist Marc Whishart told CTV Saskatoon: "If you know anybody in the city with a tattoo, it's probably one of his."

Cheryl, who has been tattooed by Chris, said that she would also have hers preserved and would hang right there alongside her husband.