By now, either from ModBlog or from viral media, you know the romantic story of Lesya and Rouslan Toumaniantz (click that link if you live under a rock) and all the fuss that her facial tattoo of his name across her face generated, a tattoo they did not long after their love-at-first-sight meeting. I wanted to share these recent photos of the healed tattoo — say what you want about the story behind the tattoo, but wow, Lesya really makes this tattoo work! It looks great on her — of course it helps that she’s beautiful and photogenic to start — and you can click any of these photos to see them at a large size.
Comments
93 responses to “Lesya Toumaniantz Photo Gallery”
What a beauty! Say what you want, but she owns that tattoo. lol
I’m actually surprised how much it’s lightened up, the pictures of it getting done looked like the ink was pushed in pretty solid. Never the less she is still a really pretty girl.
Kind of disappointing, the ink near her nose didn’t hold very well!
Still looks great, though. 8D
Does not look like some of the ink held well. I do think anatomically the tattoo works for her. I was thinking about it and I feel that it is a repressive tattoo. But so are most of the womens facial tattoos in many tribal socities.
I am hoping that the guy who did this will no longer have access to tattoo equipment. I wonder if the person who apprenticed him (if he had one) is angry? Also, I wonder if any drugs were used? Like lidocaine cream or taking a opiate before. I have a hard time believing that someone who never had a tattoo sat for that without “help”. Also again, it really,really looks like a gang tattoo.
Touching up the parts where the ink didn’t hold is a simple matter of course, although part of me likes the “faded” appearance on this, at least in terms of the photographic aesthetic. I might feel differently if I saw it in person, I don’t know. But I think it looks great and Lesya carries it really well… Purely on terms of visual impact, I really enjoy this tattoo — far more than I suspect I would have predicted if someone described it to me (ie. a six-letter name in an old-e across someone’s face). You wouldn’t think it would work this well, but somehow it does. A bold move that worked.
Spiderman – Lots of people sit for major tattoos for their first tattoo. In fact, in my experience people often sit better for their first tattoo than for later ones, I suspect because of the lack of a frame of reference (and perhaps they expected it to hurt worse than it really did). In any case, Lesya has a number of other tattoos, including on her face. She’s not heavily tattooed, and this is her first major piece in terms of changing her public identity, but it’s not her first tattoo!
This tattoo artist is a douche. He discredits the artform, yet again. He is an egocentric dick because so much could have been done that would surpass the creative genius of… his name. I wish his plan of attention seeking didn’t always work, but i guess that’s just what happens when you do ridiculous things.
It’s definitely an interesting tattoo, but I thought it looked very pretty in the photo posted with the original article where she is smiling.
Also, what does the tattoo above her eyebrow say?
To the placement (leaving my thoughts on the long term likely outcomes of getting a giant tattoo of your boyfriends name on your face) I can’t be the only person who looks at the placement and sees a beard, can I?
I really like the placement and aesthetic of this tattoo, and don’t feel like I’m in a position to condone or condemn the reasons behind it – she seems happy with it, and it’s her choice to make. It is very striking, and she is a lovely girl with great features to frame with the piece.
As I said on the last post, I’m really disappointed with the fine linework embellishments on these letters. The solid areas need another go, which Lesya has said they’re planning to do. Their edges could be a little more crisp, which can also be remedied in touch-ups. But the fine lines are squiggly, they vary in weight and width, and they’re not uniformly separated or parallel. That is really unfortunate, because there’s no simple fix for that. I think it’d be even more noticeable in-person.
All the ladies will be rockin tats like this in a year’s time. It’ll be the new tramp stamp. Like when cheryl cole got that thing on her hand.
I will assume that Lesya was after a gang style facial tattoo, after all she has compared her tattoo to MS-13 facial tattoos multiple times on her FB account. With that being the case, the “imperfect” fine-line people are pointing out only adds to the style of this tattoo. Prison or gang ink are seldom done by professionals with pro quality tools. Whether or not it was the artist’s intention to make the fine-line “imperfect”, it works just as the fading look of the ink does. It adds to the grittiness of the tattoo. Well done Lesya! Keep them talking!
britt – It says “All For Love”
thanks Jen!
About the tattoo lighting up, we did most of the central part with some kind of BLT gel (benzocain, lidocain and tetracain). That topical anaesthetic works in most cases quite good, but as any anaesthetic it can happen that sometimes a lot of ink ends up pushed out of the body during healing period. It already happened to me a couple times using that kind of gels, and it’s of course better to tattoo without them. On lips almost everything came out. Therefore we will redo what has to be redone, and add some more work as soon as she comes with me in Belgium. Then we will start a full body project.
About other stupid remarks by “spiderman” : (I am hoping that the guy who did this will no longer have access to tattoo equipment. I wonder if the person who apprenticed him (if he had one) is angry?)
So Dear Idiot, a lot of assholes like you are commenting from far away on what is nothing more than the private life of me and my wife. On Internet, I can read a lot of stupid and judgmental comments. Still, my shop’s adress is public, and none of you, crappy bollockless untermenschen, felt necessary to come tell me anything face to face.
And to Kash… I am opening my third shop, my team is becoming bigger all the time, the quality of my work keeps improving, and the whole industry knows me. A part of the industry hates me, a part of the industry sees that I’m part of those who push the limits of what’s socially acceptable. Five years ago, I was just a baker who wasn’t drawing at all. Look at what I’ve done in five years. Take a mirror and compare with your role in bodymod industry.
As a tattoo artist I’ve made more covers, TVs and media coverage than anybody else in the world. CNN, Sky, Fox, I made them all. Considering that there isn’t such thing as “bad advertising” or “good advertising”, but just advertising, I’m part of what makes tattoos more popular, because seing more and more tattoos in the media will attract more and more people to tattoos. I love body modification, and have chosen a partner that loves body modification. I also have her name on my face, and will start a full body suit on her as soon as she comes to live with me in Belgium.
That full body work, believe me, will make her definitely world famous. She draws very good, and I will turn her into a wonderful tattoo artist. I’m going to fullfill her dreams, as much as she fullfills mine. It’s her dream to tattoo, it’s her dream to live from art, it’s her dream to be fully suited. I will serve her as long as she wants me by her side.
So who are you to judge us? Look at me. I love what I do, do what I love. I’ve been working those last 5 years around 15 hour per day or more in my tattoo shop with almost no days off. I base my life on discipline, work, all that I can have under control, I keep under control. As your picture show, you’re not even able to resist to a hamburger. Who the hell are you to judge me????
If this piece were just on her body somewhere (her back, her arm, whatever), people would see those wonky lines and immediately call her fiancé a hack. But because it’s on her face, suddenly the flaws are edgy and artistic?
Rouslan is a professional with pro quality tools, and unless I find out that she asked him to intentionally make this look like it was done by someone in prison… I’m going to stick with my criticism. He should’ve done a better job. This piece wouldn’t be worth repeated features on ModBlog if it weren’t on her face.
I’ve finally managed to put my finger on what I find most unsettling about this tattoo – aesthetically, it makes me think of a kind of mask, similar to that of Hannibal Lecter’s.
That kind of grilled mask visual adds to the whole control/repression nature of the work for me. It’s quite uncomfortable, for me anyway.
This has got to be one of the worst things I have ever seen. It just makes me sad. When the relationship inevitably dissolves like all relationships do, she’s in for a world of regret & sorrow. It doesn’t even look good- the lines are all funky & it’s already more faded than my 5 year old tattoo.
And aside from that- where’s his tattoo of HER name? Oh right, there isn’t one. Not even a small one. Guess he’s fine with permanently branding her as his property but doesn’t feel the need to identify himself as her’s. I really, really do not like that guy at all, I think he’s a controlling creep who gets off on disfiguring young women.
I first thought it was a beard or mask too. It is striking. I’m reminded of what the first tat artist I ever knew told me 50 years ago “I won’t tattoo anyone’s face or hands because styles change and it may not be so cool”.
Definitely a statement but at such a young age intense feeling are usually betrayed by time.
It seems we’re not the only ones talking about this tattoo, it seems to be striking up some heated debate here NSFW http://piercedforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7783
Is that really the artist joining in or someone just pretending to be him? If that’s him then his abusive tones really aren’t doing anything to help his credibility.
I agree Kayla! It is an awful repressive tattoo. Personally I find this much more disturbing than someone splitting their genitals in half with garden shears. At least people choose to to that to their own bodies. I have always been fascinated by stuff that pushes societies extremes. But I feel like this is not something like that. What ever happened to the hammer to the hands idea for the artist?
i am just wondering.. is this about bodymod or about beeing famous whatever the price is??
I thought it was a very interesting story and a bold move. As for the tattoo itself I am not a fan of the style and would have to agree that the ink looks a bit faded and uneven. I think it is a pretty unique tattoo and props to the girl for doing what she wanted and I hope she is prepared to deal with society’s backlash. Unfortunately, with the tattoo stylized as a gang tattoo she could have some troubles. I hope all goes well for both in the future and I look forward to watching her progress as well as seeing more work by Rouslan.
What’s really fascinating is how this tattoo is capable of bringing out the hate and judgmentalism in people!!! How people who are otherwise supportive of self-expression suddenly become deeply conservative and protectionist. I mean, in terms of “risky” things that have been documented on BME, this is pretty low on the totem pole, and it’s clear that it’s been incredibly successful for both Lesya and Rouslan’s lives and careers — the more time goes by, the sillier it is to attack it, yet it keeps on coming.
I had my worries initially as well, as I do with all tattoos of names or otherwise symbolizing relationships. Hell, I’ve even seen people come to hate their BME logo tattoos because their relationship with me or the site soured. So I think that worry is legitimate — although stooping to personal attacks and insults is nonsensical and reflects poorly on the commenter — but since the deed is done, the right thing to do is wish them luck on this journey, and be happy that at least so far it seems to be the right decision.
Eric – I have to disagree with you. I think Rouslan’s responses are 100% dead-on. I think they’ve hit the nail on the head… And calling him the abusive one, after the incredible amounts of baseless insults that anonymous posters have hurled, is really missing the point.
I agree with Shannon the comments on this have been mixed with a lot of judgmental views. You only live once so if it makes you happy do it and screw what other people think. I am glad more people are doing what makes them happy because that allows others to start to explore as society may be more accepting of this things. I enjoy seeing people express themselves.
So rarely do facial tattoos stay. Its going to take a lifetime of touch ups to keep this thing dark without scarring her. What a pain in the ass.
Considering how few marriages last a lifetime these days, I feel for her when the relationship breaks up – it’s hard enough to deal with an ex’s name tattooed on your body; I can’t imagine how hard it will be when it’s on your face, and so huge. The cover-up is going to have to be pretty impressive.
I don’t get it! When the “Drake” girl got a tattoo on her forehead, everyone was saying that the artist was a massive dick-wad (including Shannon) for tattooing her, yet now, many people are supporting Rouslan.
Now, I have no problem with this tattoo, she’s old enough to make her own decisions, but I think we should all be more coherent. There is a chance that she may regret this, just as the Drake girl might regret her tattoo, but I don’t think we should judge.
Moreover, why is all the blame on the artist? If this is such a mistake, shouldn’t a lot of the blame con on the client that asks for a dumb fucking tattoo?
I like how people are reacting to this as if it wasn’t really her choice. As if she’s not a grown woman making her own decisions. If she regrets it, she regrets it. But she’s not a child that needs protection from him or herself. Jesus, we’re sliding back into patriarchy.
Also, isn’t black ink the easiest to laser off?
For me, aesthetic considerations aside, this boils down to a question of ethics, or rather a lack thereof. In many walks of life we are confronted with ethical dilemmas, and for the most part we have guidelines upon which we can base our decision. The ethical and the legal intersect, yet are not inextricably linked; they do not depend upon one another, but can often complement one another.
Should a tattoo artist tattoo his or her partner? There is, in essence, nothing wrong with that. Jacqui Moore, whose story was probably featured here on ModBlog, has 85% coverage in black and grey tattoos carried out by her husband. Interestingly, the remaining 15% includes her face. Her experience is one of self-discovery, of empowerment and of assertive individualism following a divorce from a seven year marriage. Her journey towards full coverage has taken eight years, so it’s already longer than her last relationship, and she’s now 41 years old.
As far as I can recall, and in consultation with online reportage of Jacqui Moore (on such right-wing conservative media outlets as the Daily Mail and The Sun online), the reception to her story was accepting and welcoming, understanding and sympathetic. Very different from the reception to Lesya’s new ink. Rouslan and Lesya have identical plans to Curly and Jacqui, save for Jacqui’s lack of interest in learning to be a tattooer herself, so why are people so bent out of shape about Rouslan?
It could be that he has previous. The face-full of stars on an 18 year old which hit the headlines a few years ago was a story blown far out of proportion as a result of her lie. She didn’t fall asleep, she didn’t only ask for one or two, but equally we were forced to confront then, and have been reminded of now, Rouslan’s total lack of familiar tattoo ethics. The majority of artists who speak about these issues say that they will not tattoo face or hands on anything other than a heavily tattooed client. This is a mark of the severity of the statement made by face and hand tattoos. They are outside of the norm by a significant distance.
How many artists would honestly say that if an 18 year-old girl came into their shop asking for substantial facial tattooing that they would do it? Likewise, how many would tattoo the face of a partner that they have only known for a day with their own name in 5″ script? How many tattoo artists would tattoo a client’s face with her boyfriend’s name at all? Regardless of how long they’ve known eachother, regardless of the placement, there is a question mark over names. The permanence of a tattoo plays harshly against the impermanence of most relationships.
Is it vanity that compelled him to do this work? Is it a lust for publicity? He did say, in his comment on this page, that there is no such thing as bad advertising. Is he using her face to advertise his art? If so, then it is certainly effective. It is easy to see why so many people find this story so troubling. He’s a questionable character. He’s got previous. His activities are ethically questionable. He’s a hard man to sympathise with. In my opinion, and it’s only an opinion, rightly so. I wouldn’t ask my girlfriend of six years to get a tattoo of my name and she already has a tattoo of her best friend’s name on her arm; her best friend has her name in the same spot on the other arm.
I doubt any tattoo artist besides Rouslan would have carried out this work. That alone should give pause for thought. In a profession without the stringent ethical codes of medicine or law, all we have to go on is consensus, proto-ethics, the law of common sense. Common sense dictates that it’s a bad idea to get a tattoo on your face of the name of the guy you just met. Common sense dictates that if someone asks you, as a client, to carry out that work that you decline respectfully. Here, in this story, we have a vacuum of common sense. Maybe they really are made for eachother.
Yes, a man tattooing his name in giant 5-inch letters across his teenage girlfriend’s FACE(whom he’s known for a whopping month) definitely brings out the judgementalism in people. I’m not being hateful(In fact, Rouslan’s own response, full of insults & profanity, is the only “hateful” thing I’ve seen written here) when I say that this deeply troubles me, and not just for the reason that its a facial tattoo. I’ve been in abusive relationships before, and marking the person as their property is one of the biggest signs of abusive/controlling people. His “everyone who doesn’t like it is a piece of shit” attitude to all the criticism is deeply troubling too. For her sake I hope I’m wrong, I hope they last & are happy forever but I can’t help but wonder, how’s she gonna feel when the newness wears off? How about after they have their first fight? The only good thing I can say about this is that it looks like the ink is gonna fade really well when she inevitably decides to get it removed.
” Hell, I’ve even seen people come to hate their BME logo tattoos because their relationship with me or the site soured”
@Shannon – I’m one who still loves my BME logos regardless of you not being on BME as you used to be (though damn good to see you back on modblog) or how the site has changed over the years….though the only thing I hate bout my logos are just the sadly general crappyness of them now…oh well…touch up due one day! lol
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“When the relationship inevitably dissolves like all relationships do”
@phendraana – I’m sorry, but “ALL” relationships fail?..yes there may be a high number that do…but “ALL”? I think thats a little baseless of you to say that to be fair.
Also I’d like to add to those who have complained about the quality of this work, check out Rouslan’s facebook page. There is quite a few shots of facial ink done and they are pretty good work.
To the fading and such with this piece, I can actually sympathise as my own facial work faded quite severely in places and that was not a fault of the artists but part because of healing cream I was using gave me a reaction and part because some areas of my face are just harder to work into.
And I’m also no stranger to rather down remarks about my work as well, even here on modblog I had some people criticise my ink as well. It’s best to just ignore something (and not comment) and move on really or do as Rouslan suggested, tell him to his face…though I’d love to see some people here do that lol.
I for one love this work and apart from it from a distance looking like gang style related ink which was previously mentioned and sadly does, I still love it…and I’m sorry but nothing can replace the image of her smiling face from the previous modblog post Shannon put up…THAT is better than all the ‘arty’ style pictures put together.
Matt above summerized what a lot of people including myself were thinking. I am for personal expression and personal freedom more that I feel like stating on here. I am bothered by the “artists” lack of ethics. I think I hit a nerve with Rosulan. In the end I believe we create our own reality. Icould care less if this person lives,dies or what ever. It was an interesting discussion topic for me and nothing more. And for the record any anestetic when getting a tattoo is cowardly. The pain is an important part of tattooing.
I wonder if the future of body modification will include anestetics more? I think we are already seeing it. It would be interesting if in the future there were practioners that would put people under general anestesia (legally in a controlled hospital type setting) to get some of the more interesting surgical modifications done.
So if this story ends in suicide,life long love, a cover up or a removal I could care less. Just interesting discussion. I think a big part of the problem of our civlilzation is trying to police the activities of others. Stupid people should be able to take risks and survive or die. Humans to some extent are removed right now from natural selection.
Shannon how cn u support this? And forRouslan Toumaniantz, if u don’t want people 2 judge yr personal life don’t broadcast it like you did. Do u really give a fuck abt CNN? Who cares? Wht does tht have 2 do w/ the love for your wife? U knew ppl were going to have problems w/ you bc of the Kimberly incident so why didn’t u be a bit more crafty abt how 2 present this in an open forum, atleast out of care for your wife’s feelings since u already know how judgmental the world 2 be? U wanted the attention this brought, u are using yr lady to try and notch up notoriety + thts crazy sad. I hope u guys cn work it out, but the power dynamic at play here is harsh.
“opening my third shop…” big fucking deal. Maybe that describes your skills as a business man. It’s not a measure of your ethics. You’re using women as your personal scratch pad.
A local automotive body shop owner owns and operates a string of a dozen tattoo studios in the boroughs of New York City. All it required was money, space and a reliable front man/artist to run the shop and hire the other artists.
Nice fatphobic comment Rouslan. Your comment above screams that you just want attention (claiming that your work is all over the news, and it’s all negative). I personally think you’re making a joke of this industry. Look how far you’ve come in five years? Who the fuck is honestly going to want to get into tattooing for the first time when they see the work you’ve produced?
I’ve lost a lot of hope in this forum because of Shannon. I’ve seen nothing but misogynistic bullshit from controversial topics such as this. And congrats on your beliefs that religious practices and traditions (your shitty buddhist monks tattoo post) should be shamed. You’re the definition of a New Atheist, and it’s so childish.
Giving the entire community here an awful name. And it SUCKS.
The work on this tattoo is awful, the design is awful, using anesthetics that you know will fuck up the end result is awful (as you’ve so kindly stated Rouslan), and the general want to use shock value to further this community for your own seemingly benefit is awful.
I haven’t seen any if you in my shop yet. Therefore you just don’t exist. I don’t have the time to answer to all your crap nor the desire to justify myself for something that is related to my freedom and the freedom of my partner. I think you people have way too much time to think and talk about my private life. Isn’t yours interesting enough maybe???
Face tattoo looks good–beautiful face complemented by austere ink. (And I like the ‘faded’ black ink look; it looks like wisdom.)
“I don’t have the desire to… justify myself for something that is related to my freedom and the freedom of my partner.”
This statement is astoundingly myopic. To hide behind ‘freedom’ is ultimate cowardice in the face of reasoned debate and, if we’re honest, a fairly light grilling from the friendliest audience you’re ever likely to find. This is ModBlog, after all. We do welcome one and all. But I think that part of welcoming one and all should be to submit oneself to a degree of interrogation. Light interrogation, yes, and from a distance. I wonder what ‘freedom’ you were exercising. Was it artistic freedom? Are you an artist? In the world of body modification the definition of an artist must be augmented. It must be altered to incorporate the use of living breathing human beings as the canvas on which to be painted or the marble to be sculpted. This is more than art.
If I commission a painting, or just go into my local shop and buy one out of a rack, I can take it home and try it out in various positions around my home. I can move it when I grow bored of it, or it becomes an inconvenience. If I cease to find it visually appealing I can sell it and if no one wants to buy it I can throw it away. Your partner can’t throw her face away. She can’t move your name onto another body part to see if it maybe looks better there. Like the cosmetic surgeons who marry their clients and perform excessive surgical augmentation on them, you’re way outside of an ethical safe zone.
She wants to be tattooed by you and you want to tattoo her. You are active, she is passive. She passively receives your indelible markings, you inscribe them onto her. This relationship is not, by definition, abusive, but it is open to severe abuse as the power relations are weighted almost entirely in your favour. And now, if she decides to leave this relationship, she is permanently marked with your name. She can never forget you. You have stolen her ability to forget.
The fact is that if you were a more sympathetic person, if you didn’t insult those who question you, if you weren’t so insecure and fragile, I for one would not have felt so compelled to take this stance. But you are insecure. You challenge us to a fight when we simply ask you a question. You deny our existence because we don’t come and face you down in person. You clearly did not think about what you were doing this girl, you just did it. Yes, ethics (and believe me, as a researcher in the social sciences, I know my ethics) are a curtailment of freedom. We can’t do much of the research today that thirty years ago was commonplace. Our imagination has to take second billing to our ethical faculties. As existing somewhere between medicine and art, tattooing must take from both. Take ethics from medicine and creativity from art. That is the only way forward. Lesya has to exist within a society that does not share your aesthetic. In the eyes of the majority of the world’s people you have permanently disfigured her and you do not give a shit.
HOLY FUCK MATT. That was the best comment ever.
@matt your statment is the best I have read in this discussion.
@rosulan as matt so elequently summerized you are a weak and insecure person. I find it amusing that you challange us to a physical confrontation because intellectually you can not win or even put togeather an intelligent debate.It is easy to challange us knowing we are thousands of kilometers away. I would be interested to sit down and discuss this topic with you and hear your view point as men. I do not think that is likely though. Right now you are like a wounded animal. You are biting and screaming in vein as the spear penitrates deeper and deeper. ( I imagine you have been a wounded animal for most of your life). A strong animal would continue to fight with the spear sticking out of them. The weak animal leaves a trail of blood and returns to its den to die. By not stating your opinion in an intelligent manner you prove you are the weak animal biting and screaming and leaving a trail of blood back to your den where you die.
Standing ovation for Matt; bravo sir!
I don’t think Matts comment fits this case. We are not talking about a minor ethical issue here.
What has happened here is clearly along the lines of medieval practices such as turning slaves into cripples so they cannot run away. It is cleary an act of damaging a person to an extent that will not allow this person to continue to live a normal live.
In this case, there is no criminal prosecution for Rouslan, but this can only mean that we, the people of the earth must jump in and make sure that such behaviour is not tolerated, because:
If we can prevent just one other girl from beeing disfigured by this guy then we already made much of a differene.
@Matt Bravo.
@Rouslan
There might perhaps come a time when you realize the ethics error that you have committed on women now more than once ( 3 times!). If this was a one time thing I almost could have supported this, but now hearing your retorts it is impossible. You do not intellectually understand yet the weight of what has happened here. You broadcasted your personal life on purpose. You did not have to do that in the way you did. You are trying to be a predator. It shows in the way you presented this to world in words and images. If you did not want to be seen as such you might have still showed the work, but maybe not so publicly. Or maybe waited until she had more of your work on her body. You were in a rush to show this as soon as possible. What’s that about? You were in a rush to showcase your wife buck naked with your finger up her crotch in a suggestive way, not showing her other tattoos for the shock value, to promote “your work”? Come on dude. Get it together.
There is no amount of laser that’s going to make this story better for Leysa. The laser will leave scars. She will probably eventually have to committ to some huge facial tattoo coverup, which could be really cool, so Ive not lost hope for her. But I’ve seen what happens to women and men who end up in relationships where the power dynamic is of this type. It never ends well and I hope Leysa knows she has an entire global community here on BME that will be here to help her when shit hits the fan, and the same goes for @Rouslan when you realize what it is you have done exactly and are ready for forgiveness and understanding.
I’ve seen loads of stuff on here that quite frankly gives me the heebie jeebies and to be honest i don’t understand why people do the things they do, but it’s because i don’t know them personally, it’s not my place to judge, I’m here to see boundaries pushed and am rarely disappointed 🙂
“We are not talking about a minor ethical issue here.”
Firstly, I never said it was minor. It is a substantial ethical issue. Secondly, I would argue that we are talking about an ethical issue. This case does not fit the medieval slave owner disfigurement model. As far as consent goes, I think we’re pretty much satisfied. She wanted, he gave it to her.
I think the thing that tips the balance for me is that they’re in a relationship. Apparently they intend to marry. This, combined with the fact that it’s a tattoo of his name, makes me feel pretty queasy. But y’know, maybe it’ll work out. She wants him to train her up as an artist. If that works and she’s good then maybe she’ll never need to go outside of the tattoo community to find employment.
I kinda hate the way this whole story has made me feel. I want to get behind her. I want to say, “way to go.” But I can’t. I reference Jacqui Moore and her journey through tattooing with her partner and the similarities and differences with this case and what bothers me the most about Rouslan and Lesya is that there is no ‘journey’ here. I’m always seeing that word in ModBlog pieces about people who are doing pretty extreme things. It’s a journey. There is no journey in this story. They meet and the next day they’re engaged and she has his name tattooed across her face. Something’s missing here and I think it’s the journey.
So yeah, to summarise, there’s no journey, they’re in a relationship which leaves the door open for all kinds of bad shit and it’s the name thing that I just can’t get over. Why the name? I mean the fact is that we wouldn’t be talking about this at all were it not for the fact that it’s a full facial name tattoo. A name tattoo having known a person for a day, anywhere but the face, it’s a holiday romance or a drunken dare or something like that. A facial tattoo is something you build up to. It’s something that even lots of really heavily tattooed people will not do because it’s such an extreme commitment and for this girl to jump to that so quickly and to do it in this manner it just seems wrong.
Equally, I don’t think that this guy is a criminal. I don’t think (and I really hope I’m right about this) that he’d do it without consent, but he seems to hold himself to very loose ethical standards. We saw with the girl a few years ago. She asked Rouslan for a face-full of stars and he did it. She regretted that so quickly and, in the end, lied about it and was found out, but why put yourself in that position as an artist? You’re inviting derision and, possibly, worse from the community that you live in. As far as I can understand, he’s left Belgium because of it. There needs to be some self-examination here. That’s what ethics is. Yeah, there are ethics boards and such, but in many cases ethics are what we must wrestle with ourselves. We have to ask ourselves these questions, otherwise we cannot defend our work when others disagree with us.
Matt, I didn’t even read what you said, as I didn’t read the rest. Please note the stupidity of a bunch of trolls speaking about my life without me being interested in the discussion. That being said, I just noticed, above, that you say that I left Belgium, which was never the case. Actually, you base your (useless) thoughts on what a press, generally not the brightest one (sun, daily mirror and so on), will have decided to invent about my life, that, as you, they comment on without having ever met me. And they do it for people like you (you probably will agree that the sun and daily mirror readers have to be not elite intelligence), that is, people that like to judge their neighbors through an information that they give no shit about quality. I am not going to go through your useless bullshit and answer because I just don’t have the time and energy (and desire) to answer patiently the questions that any idiot in this world may ask himself about me. I just wanted to add those words to point out the obvious fact, but not so obvious to your eyes, that all that you say about me is based on what you read in the media, which in most case is shit for brainwashed idiots. I never left Belgium, had one shop four years ago, have two now and do open a third one, with customers that, as opposed to you, know me and know why they come. So, again, you don’t know me, you judge me and debate publicly about what is my private life, just put as that by media in public sphere without asking me advice or even interviews…