(Please note: Pictures are only posted on Myspace)
Many of you have been asking me to post some tattoo pictures, and I promised. However, I will only post the pictures on my Facebook blog. The explanations are here:
1. Tattoo on right arm – The Question Mark
That was my first tattoo—a so-called semi-permanent tattoo—a type that apparently doesn’t exist. I was told that it would disappear in five years. I had it done when I turned 19. The meaning is philosophical but straightforward. I have too many questions in my life, to which I have no answers. I used to admire John Rzeznik’s Saul Steinberg tattoos. He has loads of question marks tattooed on his arm with a man sitting amid them.
2. Tattoo down the back on the right – The Fish/Shark
That’s the only tattoo that doesn’t really have a meaning. I like fish, they are quiet and don’t complain. At some point, I associated it with the band Feeder because Grant Nicholas used to have a goldfish named Feeder.
3. Tattoo on the left shoulder – The Moon
It’s about Shakespeare. Whenever he mentions the moon in his plays, people do stupid things. Take Othello, for example. The moon symbolises madness. I also used to associate it with my ex, as I used to call him names that contained the word “moon” (stupid, I know.) Well, I had it fixed this year, so it no longer looks like a dead banana.
4. Tattoo on the neck – Zodiac Sign
No, dammit, it’s not Pisces, it’s not Gemini. I’m a Cancer. If you have no idea what all the zodiac signs look like, then google them. I wanted the circle bits to look different so that they wouldn’t look dull. I told the tattoo artist that I wanted them to portray alien heads. And he did a damn good job. It’s my best tattoo so far without having had any trouble. The fine lines prove it. Every time people look at it, their minds go to dirty places. Think sperm, tadpoles, skulls, etc.
5. Tattoo on the right shoulder – Saturn
Saturn is a long story: It’s my favourite planet, even though people call it the planet of death and destruction. Saturn is the planet of my favourite Greek god Cronos, the God of Harvest, the idea behind the grim reaper. Cronos castrated his father with a sickle and let him bleed to death. The grim reaper fascinates me. Also, Saturday derives from Saturn. The sixth day of the week is the equivalent of the sixth planet in the solar system. I was born on a Saturday.
It’s getting fixed soon because my tattoo artist was drunk.
6. Tattoo on my left wrist – Rorschach’s signature
I wouldn’t get anything tattooed based on a real-life person, but fictional characters are different. Watchmen is my favourite comic book, and Rorschach, my favourite comic book character. Despite his far-right attitude, he fights for justice. He knows who he is and what he was made for. I admire his black and white thinking (not that I think that way. Though I wish I were like that sometimes). It would be so much easier to make decisions not based on the gray area as it blurs your judgement. What I admire most is his honesty because he’s a moral absolutist.
“Never compromise, not even in the face of Armageddon…” He makes me question my morality and honesty. Maybe I’m not as honest as you think I am.
