Kevin (who you last saw on ModBlog with Enigma) had this Tlingit (Pacific Northwest) art-inspired scarification done by Matt Vermillion of Artistic Skin Design in Indianapolis, Indiana, which is now quite well healed. The cutting looks nice and even — although there is intended variability in the line strength — but as you can see, parts of it keloided much, much more than others. Some of it, like the outside circle, is likely due to the initial cutting, but the majority of the variability appears to be from natural body motion and anatomy, and rubbing from clothes. His aftercare was mildly abrasive with sugar and vaseline.
Click on either half to see the scar in full, or click here for an animation that blends between the two (it’s not easy to line up a fresh scar with a healed one because of how much the skin distorts from the keloids, even with photos this similar), or if you’ve been missing NSFW posts, click here to check out the scar, completely overshadowed by Kevin’s transcrotal piercing and meatotomy.
I’ll also mention what I said to Kevin — who is considering adding more Tlingit scars to the sides of this piece — that I think this is a perfect canvas for tattooing over scarification… With the right application of black and red, and maybe white, it would really bring out the design and also give a nice nod to Tlingit art at the same time.
Comments
6 responses to “Keloiding on a Tlingit-inspired Torso Scar”
This seems to lean more toward hypertrophic than full keloid- I wonder if Kevin was aware that his scars would have a probability of forming keloids? In any case, it’s still appealing to the eye.
LOVE the transcrotal and meatotomy, didn’t notice the scar much after that!
I heartily agree! I think this excellent piece is a great candidate for a tattoo as well. I love the look of a fresh cutting, but the scars almost always seem to lose some of their impact once healed. It’s a shame because they are such beautiful designs and I feel that they deserve to stand out as much as a tattoo. Bringing the tattoo into it gives it that extra oomph, and this design would just totally pop with some ink!
yawwwwn more white people with indigenous tattoos. don’t you ever get tired of being racist dicks?
It’s not racist. It’s called appropriation and a lot of forms of body modification have been appropriated from other cultures.
its funny how quick people are to draw conclusions, when they in fact know nothing of a persons heritage…
that being said, is it no longer possible for someone to get something marked on them because they love and appreciate the style of art and the culture in which it came from?
with that logic, white people cannot bear any sort of modification that did not originate in the united states…..
I love tattoos, I’ve had 6 myself. HOWEVER, I would never EVER have a tattoo like this one that looks like it could have some sort of occult meaning. Unless you know for certain what the symbolism of the image is communicating, you should approach these types of tattoos with caution. The human body is energetic and conscious so ‘INFORMATION’ is important and can have a profound effect on the body. This symbol looks almost Mayan-like and the Mayans used symbolism and iconography a lot to worship their gods, they also sacrificed humans on a regular basis.
Even though you personally might not know what an image is symbolizing, it doesn’t mean it won’t effect you because the sub-conscious mind views this reality in a very different way. Also, the Mayan appear to have had a deep understanding of this universe and the energetic nature of reality so their symbolism was designed to communicate positive and negative aspects of nature.
This tattoo could have strong energetic properties which is why Keloids have developed. People need to be careful when they place certain symbols in important places on the body, especially in-line with your energetic Chakra’s because it wouldn’t be hard to throw your bodies energy off balance.
I believe all tattoo artists should learn the power of symbolism and the energetic effect they can have on the person. Some will obviously dismiss this as spiritual nonsense but even quantum mechanics is starting to confirm the importance of symbolism and the energetic nature of reality. They are also beginning to understand the importance of consciousness and the power of intention so all of the ancient civilizations wasn’t so primitive after all. They appear to have known a lot more about this reality than we do now.