BME: Body Modification Ezine

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.

Tattoo, Piercing, and Body Modification News, Events, and Culture

  • More 3D Skull Implants

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    The skull implants being made by Steve Haworth have — in part because of some amazing photos of them by Samppa Von Cyborg that went viral — have taken off and I’m seeing more and more of them. When I first saw them, the first thing I said was “these would look great in a sternum”, so I felt validated when I saw this great example that Samppa did while guesting at Copenhagen Body Extremes I felt my comment was vindicated. You’ll notice that he also did a set of beads just under the collarbone to augment the client’s biomech tattoos, but what I really wanted to point out here was the shape and direction of the incisions that he used. I’m sorry to say that Samppa is one of the few modification artists that really pays a lot of attention to Langer’s lines — meaning that he always tries to make his cuts in parallel to the direction of the collagen fibers of the body. By doing so, he does far less damage to the skin, and makes it much easier for the body to reattach and close the wound with a minimum of scarring. This is why the central cut at the bottom of the sternum is curved, and the incisions for the bead rows are horizontal rather than perpendicular to the bead rows. Taking this extra effort is the sort of small nuance that really separates “the best from the rest”.

    skull-implant

    Click to zoom of course.

    Following are three more skull implants (and I’m sure over time you will see many more of them in BME’s implant galleries due to the popularity of the design). I admit I’m afraid to misidentify the location of the first one because of the close crop, but it’s either a forearm or a calf, but in either case, what’s important to notice is how different this implant looks in the soft tissue, causing the edges to have a lot more blur or blend into their surroundings than they might otherwise have. The next is of course in a hand, with the placement designed to augment the tattoo, and both of these were also Samppa’s work. The final example is by Alex of Clandestine Body Art in Bilbao, Spain (and was actually featured by Rob a while back when it was fresh), so you can compare the healed piece).

    skull1t skull2t skull3t

  • Tattooed really is the new black

    Written by

    Shannon Larratt

    And by that I mean that “Black Like Me” has become “Tattooed Like Me”. In 1961 journalist John Howard Griffin — a white man — published the book “Black Like Me” detailing a six-week journey through segregated America while convincingly disguised as a black man. Now in 2012, journalist Brad Casey — a plainskin — has written an essay for Vice magazine detailing his five day experience in today’s America while convincingly disguised as a man with a facial tattoo. He describes the constant, never-ending and very annoying staring (and breaks down the types of stares), often drunken comments and insults, terrified babies, apparent prejudicial treatment at a job interview, and women undressing him with their eyes hoping that the tattoos signify him being a sex freak for them to have a one-night-adventure with.

    So what does Brad, who jokes that his untattooed condition is due to his fear of becoming addicted if he were to get a taste of the modified lifestyle think of the whole adventure? That “having a face tattoo was fun most of the time and taking it off made me feel, in the days following, like something was missing” and that “the most difficult part of having a face tattoo is spending your day explaining your shitty life decision to every single person you meet.” It’s really just a fluff piece, but a fun read nonetheless. Check it out at vice.com/read/i-had-a-face-tattoo-for-a-week

    plainskin-no-more

  • True Patriot Love

    Written by

    Rob

    Conor from CrM BodyModifications in Warsaw did this pair of patriotic scars on one of this clients.  For those unfamiliar with the symbols, the one on the left is Poland’s coat of arms, while the one on the right is the Kotwica, which was the symbol used by the Polish army during WWII during their efforts to force the Nazi troops out of Warsaw.

  • Hot Damn

    Written by

    Rob

    Nexizydrate is no stranger to being naked on ModBlog, although come to think of it, I don’t think she’s actually ever been fully naked.. until now.  You’ll have to read ahead to see the full images, or you can just head to the BMEGirls gallery to see them all.

    Keep on reading to see the rest of this beautiful IAMer.

    Photos by Peter Whitney. Nosferatu tattoo by Adi Earl.

    Remember, the BME Galleries always have the full sized images, so be sure visit them.

  • Sausage Fest

    Written by

    Rob

    You know it’s going to be a good day when it starts out with a wiener post.

    IAM: MSR‘s sausage was tattooed by Eliran Nuna from Jellyfish Tattoo in Beer Sheva.

  • An eclectic mix

    Written by

    Rob

    Joeltron isn’t the only one out there making custom jewelry for his clients.  Richard Ivey also has been making small pieces to go into ears.  Below you can see a custom bent industrial, in addition to the rest of the piercings, including the surface one next to the ear.

    If you’re looking to get one of those little hearts for yourself, look no further than the BMEShop.

  • Hook Life

    Written by

    Rob

    Many of you know Misty from her work over HookLife, as well as her scarification work I’ve posted in the past.  Well recently Lucas from the Springfield chapter of AGRO came to visit her and she was able to combine both her love of suspension and her talent as an artist.

    That’s the AGRO logo in case you didn’t know.

  • Pilot Down

    Written by

    Rob

    Any landing you can walk away from is a good one right?

    On the plus side, an eye patch will make her look like a pirate.

    You might not recognize her, but that’s IAM: IntoXiKate in a photo shoot she did with NuStudio back in July.

  • Grave Marking

    Written by

    Rob

    We haven’t seen much of Richard ‘Effin’ Ivey in the past few months.  The reason is he’s been pretty busy knocking out more scars to show off.  On top of that, Rich is going to be moving out to the west coast soon, so if you’re on the east coast and want to get some work done, you better get in touch with him at Warlocks in Raleigh, NC.

    Here’s a fresh Parisian grave marker scar that Rich recently completed.

  • Sparrow!

    Written by

    Rob

    At a quick glance this may appear to be a pretty lifelike version of a pair of sparrows, however if you look closely, you’ll see that it isn’t.  Nail has managed to use abstract shapes and lines to create the effect of a pair of birds in flight, and the result is simply stunning.