A black-and-white photo of a person mid-air in a Superman-style body suspension pose, supported by multiple hooks in their back and legs, smiling joyfully toward the camera. They are suspended horizontally in a large indoor space with high ceilings and visible rigging. A group of onlookers—some seated, some standing—watch with expressions of admiration, amusement, and support. The atmosphere is lively and communal, capturing a moment of shared experience and transformation.

OM silently overpowers the chaos

My old friend James Keen has been on one of the wildest bumpiest body modification adventures over the last decade of just about anyone I know, and even though there have been periods where I’ve been worried about him, he’s kept his head over water, and in time has even become quite the swimmer. His latest piece suits his journey well, a big OM skin removal in the centre of his head, tearing away the deathly tattoos below, the calm unsound of the universe silently singing out over all the chaos below. It was done for him by Matt Vermillion.

james-keen

PS. I don’t know everyone’s IAM names at this point, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that one of the other ModBlog writers can help me out with that aspect, or even that readers can add those links in the comments for now.

Comments

8 responses to “OM silently overpowers the chaos”

  1. James Keen Avatar
    James Keen

    Thanks Shannon so much! such amazing words. I became buddhist years ago and this is a very power symbol for me. 🙂

  2. James Keen Avatar
    James Keen

    Thanks Shannon so much! such amazing words. I became buddhist years ago and this is a very power symbol for me. 🙂

  3. James Keen Avatar
    James Keen

    Thanks Shannon so much! such amazing words. I became buddhist years ago and this is a very power symbol for me. 🙂

  4. James Keen Avatar
    James Keen

    Thanks Shannon so much! such amazing words. I became buddhist years ago and this is a very power symbol for me. 🙂

  5. Perry-M-Doig Avatar
    Perry-M-Doig

    Thank you, Shannon, for posting this the way you did. We’re missing the full perception of modifications right now. Everyone just wants to look at a picture and click “next.” This was very refreshing. Welcome back, friend.

  6. Perry-M-Doig Avatar
    Perry-M-Doig

    Thank you, Shannon, for posting this the way you did. We’re missing the full perception of modifications right now. Everyone just wants to look at a picture and click “next.” This was very refreshing. Welcome back, friend.

  7. Perry-M-Doig Avatar
    Perry-M-Doig

    Thank you, Shannon, for posting this the way you did. We’re missing the full perception of modifications right now. Everyone just wants to look at a picture and click “next.” This was very refreshing. Welcome back, friend.

  8. Perry-M-Doig Avatar
    Perry-M-Doig

    Thank you, Shannon, for posting this the way you did. We’re missing the full perception of modifications right now. Everyone just wants to look at a picture and click “next.” This was very refreshing. Welcome back, friend.

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