When creating a Buddha image, the artist is expected to be in a spiritual and mental state (samādhi) that will enable him to visualise this ideal reality. There is no requirement that every Buddha image be identical, and in fact there is a wide variety of artistic styles and national traditions in representing the Buddha.

–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconography_of_the_Buddha

The process of getting a scar is unique to each person.  Yet in each time, the person receiving the scar is going through a mental state that is unlike any other.  In some of the comment sections recently people have criticized scarification work as “dumb” because you can “get a better result with a tattoo”.  What these people are failing to grasp is that the process, the healing, and the final product are very different from a tattoo.

Making these cuts into the skin, the artist is enabling the wearer to go through an experience that is both physically taxing, and spiritually moving.  To feel ones flesh being removed from the body, in a controlled manner, is one that requires a person to look inside and really become aware of their self.  When the process is finished, and the healing begins, again there is an element that is unique to scarification.  The resulting scar is not only the product of the work of the artist, but also the product of the body itself.  We all heal differently, and the scars that result are unique to each person.  It truly is an art form that requires both the mind and the body working in harmony to create the finished product.

Then there is the artist.  These talented men and women who have taken something naturally occurring (the formation of a scar) and have transformed it into an entirely unique form of art.  One such artist is Efix Roy, from Montreal.  This most recent scar was placed on none other than IAM: Caleigh Green.

The scar was created this past Saturday, and it’ll be nice to see it as it heals up.  There is another image of the scar behind the clickthough.  It’s closeups from a side angle so you can get an idea of the depth of the cuts.