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

  • The world needs more bouncy castles

    Written by

    Rob

    Seriously.  Life would be so much better if every day we could spend 15 minutes bouncing around in one.  Ball pits are an acceptable alternative, but there’s something to be said for bouncing around like an idiot in a castle.  If you support the bouncy castle initiative, then you should be attending BMEFest 2011.  Oh sure, there’s a pool, some goats, baby ducks, slip’n’slides, bonfires, bbq, suspensions, campsites and more, but what matters most is the bouncy castles.  Alright, so spending a weekend in Virginia with some awesome people is probably a better reason to come down.  So get yourself over to the event page, sign up (if you have a problem signing up, try a different browser), and I’ll be seeing you next weekend (July 2nd-4th)!

    BME logo scar by MaRTWy.

  • Is it hot in here?

    Written by

    Rob

    Or is it just Meizy?

    Photo by Scott Miron See

  • Hand-crafted

    Written by

    Rob

    DIY tattoos have been around, well forever.  Granted today they have a negative stigma attached to them simply due to lack of knowledge both by some of the people doing the tattoos as well as outside observers.  Yet what about tattoo artists who tattoo themselves.  Are they still considered DIY?  Here we have Palua Simbora Siagian, one of the artists from Paranormal Tattoo in Philadelphia giving himself a half hand-poked, half hand-tapped thigh piece.

  • Up here my eyes are green leaves, unseeing

    Written by

    Rob

    I am alone. They have gone into the house for breakfast, and I am left standing by the wall among the flowers. It is very early, before lessons. Flower after flower is specked on the depths of green. The petals are harlequins. Stalks rise from the black hollows beneath. The flowers swim like fish made of light upon the dark, green waters. I hold a stalk in my hand. I am the stalk. My roots go down to the depths of the world, through earth dry with brick, and damp earth, through veins of lead and silver. I am all fibre. All tremors shake me, and the weight of the earth is pressed to my ribs. Up here my eyes are green leaves, unseeing. I am a boy in grey flannels with a belt fastened by a brass snake up here. Down there my eyes are the lidless eyes of a stone figure in a desert by the Nile. I see women passing with red pitchers to the river; I see camels swaying and men in turbans. I hear tramplings, tremblings, stirrings round me.

    -Virginia Woolf:  The Waves

    IAM: EvanxBurke

  • There’s no place like home

    Written by

    Rob

    Dorothy was always going on about Kansas.  How much she loved living on a farm with a lovable cast of characters.  That was a long time ago.  Nowadays I think she’d rather click her heels together and wish to go to Roanoke, VA, to visit Roger at Star City Tattoo.

  • This ain’t no cold front

    Written by

    Rob

    Her name may be Polareyez, but she’s definitely hot.  Featuring work from Nick Friederich, Jason Ackerman, Brian Decker, and Starr Belew, Polareyez has a lot going on for her.  Hopefully I can twist her arm to come down to BMEFest 2011.

    I’ve got one more pic of her, but you’ll have to keep reading to see it.

    It’s pretty tame content wise, but I figured it’s better to be safe than sorry.  Especially if it might cost someone their job.

  • Building on greatness

    Written by

    Rob

    We’ve established in the past that Vincent Hocquet’s dotwork pieces are mind-bendingly awesome.  Today we’re going to look back on a piece that was first featured last August, and how far along it’s progressed since then.  So here’s how the sleeve started out.  A massive undertaking that blended geometry and flowers to create a beautiful image.

    Then again, back in March, we saw this same sleeve, but the focus was on the latest addition, an all-seeing eye on the chest.  It also gave us a chance to see just how detailed the sleeve itself was.  What we thought was initially solid shapes turned out to be dotwork that was conforming to a perfect geometric shape.

    Which brings us to today where the latest addition has taken the piece from his right shoulder, all the way across his chest.

    Given how much blank skin there is on that lucky guy, I’d imagine we’re in for more from Vincent.  Be sure to check out more of his work in his BME portfolio gallery.

  • Piercing Chakras

    Written by

    Rob

    We’ve seen quite a few forehead microdermals designed to represent the third eye, however we don’t see a lot of projects that continue the line of chakras down the body.  WonderfulMouse here has gone out and gotten a series of four microdermals that represent the Swadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, and Vishuddha chakras.  It’s worth noting that her jewelry choice matches the color that represents each chakra.

    Microdermals by Jeremy from Deep Roots in Seattle, WA.

  • Winged Guardian

    Written by

    Rob

    So many images come to mind when I look at this scar.  On one hand I see a representation of an angel, on the other I see a comic book hero striking a pose.  It could also be a character from a video game.  Which is what I think I like most about the piece.   It could be any one of those things, or it could be something completely different altogether.  It allows the viewer to see whatever they want to see, without taking away from the beautiful scar that will be left behind by the cutting.

    You can see more of MaRTWy’s scars in the skin removal scarification gallery.

  • Tiny Om

    Written by

    Rob

    It’s a tiny Om made from tiny dots.  I’m not really familiar with Israeli currency, but I’m guessing that coin is roughly the size of a nickle.  Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

    Not surprisingly, this tattoo comes from Cyber Tattoo which is located in Israel.