BME: Body Modification Ezine

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Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.

Tag: Scarification

  • When animals attack, grow some gills and swim away

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    In recent years, most of the scarification pieces I have seen have been pictures of something. For instance, recently on modblog Rob featured a Game Boy and a BME Heart Logo.  Those type of scars are cool and all, but there is something purely primal to me about a scar that doesn’t explain itself so easily.

    Take for instance this piece. First off, to those outside of the body mod world, this probably looks like some sort of accident or injury. With it’s jagged edges and general randomness, I can see where they would get that idea.

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    As it heals, it turns from looking like a wild animal attack to looking like the wearer has a set of gills.

    For a healed pick and a little more Sean rambling, keep on keeping on.

    Was having a faux animal attack the goal? Or was she looking to have a set of gills to allow her to breathe underwater. Only she can answer that for sure, but I like the fact it is left open to interpretation.

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  • A stitch in time

    Written by

    Rob

    Surface weaving is an interesting form of modification.  Originally the term was applied to larger pieces of jewelry the wove its way through the surface of the skin.  Recent additions to the surface weaving gallery on the other hand have taken on an artistic flair, with the weaves being done with various flexible materials to create a design that is meant to be temporary modification, much like corseting is done for photo shoots.

    Today, we’re taking a look at a surface weave that initially appears to be a temporary show piece, but in the end it turns into a unique way to craft a scar.  Orrnahitsn sent in these photos of the work by Kim Hutchinson (Skin Seamstress).

    Fresh

    So this is the weave right after it was completed.

    Keep reading to see how this was transformed into a scar.

    2 weeks

    After 2 weeks you can see that some of the weaves have broken through the skin, but it is still maintaining the shape.

    Days later

    Just a couple of days later, even more of the seams have broken and the ones that haven’t appear to be irritated and possibly rejecting.

    4 months

    Finally, after four months, the weave is gone, but what remains is a scar that was created in an interesting manner.

  • A beak that just won’t quit

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    Ryan Oullette, sent me this picture of a cutting he did. At first glance I thought it was a plague doctor, but when I opened the picture, I realized it was a far less grim image. In either case, it’s an excellent piece by one of the best scarification artist around.

    mail

  • Life, liberty, and the pursuit of modification

    Written by

    Rob

    The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.

    –Thomas Jefferson

    Now, when it comes to quotes from the founding fathers, there’s always room for interpretation.  Context is always key, which is something that tends to be forgotten in today’s political climate.  One thing is definite, the line about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, was a notion that at its core is a positive one.  Now people can debate until they’re blue in the face about how those ideals should be met, and what the original intentions behind them were, but if you were to just take the statement on its own, it certainly is applicable to the modified community.  For the most part, all any of us want is to be able to express ourselves in any way we see fit.  It just so happens that it involves modifying the physical body, as opposed to making a statement in a letter or painting a picture.

    Recently Brian performed this blended scarification and branding piece on one of his clients.  With the choice of the word liberty as the focus of the piece, the owner is showing off just how she is able to exercise her free will, and take control of her own body in a way she sees fit.

    liberty

    As to whether the owner got this scar/brand with the famous words in mind, only she will ever know.  As observers we can just sit back and interpret it however we see fit, which is exactly what the philosophy of liberty allows us to do.

    You can get a closer look at this piece in the Brian Decker gallery, and if you’re so inclined, feel free to leave a comment on the photo.  If you’re logged into your BME account you can add a comment to any image in the galleries.

  • Remember when 80′s hair bands toured the world to spread glam and STD’s….

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    ……this is like that, except  less glamorous, and without the disease transmission.

    Ron Garza, as I have mentioned in previous post, LIVES body modification. He often travels the world to personally experience  the other cultures rituals and body modification practices. Currently though, he is out on tour not to experience things for himself but to help others have their own experiences and to spread his knowledge.

    1iskzqrb

    Ron has 2 days still open in Prague and  some appts. left in Croatia also, where he will be teaching as well.
    He will also be teaching in Mexcio city APP also and taking scar appointments in Mexico City as well. If your in any of these areas and want to take some of his classes, get cut or just shoot the shit with a guy who lives for body modification, definitely hit him up.

  • The Friday Follow-up

    Written by

    Rob

    The question that is most often asked when a scarification piece is posted is “What does it look like healed?”  So today we’re going to take a look at a scar that was featured a month ago, and see how the healing is coming along.  I realize this isn’t a fully healed scar, but it is still nice to see how it is coming along.

    Here is the piece when it was still fresh:

    heart-798x10241

    And now, the scar after a few weeks of healing:

    heart2

    This scar, done by IAM: Eroswastika is one of many I’d like to revisit.  Ideally I’d like to make this a weekly column, so if you’ve got some before and after pictures of your scars, upload them to BME, and then drop me a line letting me know that you’ve sent them in.  Also, if you’re interested in seeing other fresh and healed scars, check out the scarification galleries.

  • It’s the little things

    Written by

    Rob

    It seems like it was only yesterday that IAM: Efix had one of his scarification pieces featured here.  Oh wait, it was.  But it seems that Efix Roy wasn’t satisfied with uploading just one amazing piece this week.

    This tiny heart and anchor scarification done on Efix’s friend Genevieve’s fingers recently really stood out, simply because of the challenge of the piece.  While a lot of time we feature big bold scarification pieces, a lot of times the devil is in the details, and in a piece like this, all you have are the details.  With a small design, and a small surface to work with, I can only imagine how tricky it was to perform.

    As with pretty much every scar piece I feature, I really hope we get to see a healed version of this scar, as I would assume that finger scars are difficult to make stick.  I’m also curious as to if these are just the first two scars in what will eventually be a set of full knuckle scars.  Granted I was at a casino yesterday so when I saw the heart and anchor, I instantly thought of crowns, clubs, diamonds, and spades.

    efix heart and anchor

  • The Big 2-0!

    Written by

    Rob

    Ladies and Gentlemen and everyone in between, I’d like to present to you, hailing from Quebec City, in his twentieth appearance on ModBlog, IAM’s own Efix!

    I’d say a round of applause is in order, not only for this being his 20th feature, but also for making such an incredible scar of the Ashtamangala, the 8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism.  I could go on about the spiritual meanings of each of the symbols, but I think I’d rather just take a look at the scar, and congratulate Efix on reaching this milestone.  You can see even more of his work over in his own scarification gallery.  As for the owner of the scar, the only thing I know is that according to Efix, he is “one tuff motherfucker”.

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    Disclaimer:  Efix may have been featured more than 20 times, I’m just going by his count on his IAM page.

  • Black hole sun

    Written by

    Rob

    Update:  Didn’t realize the meaning behind the original image that I used.  I’ve since replaced it with the current image.

    So I’ve had a few Soundgarden songs stuck in my head ever since I’ve heard the band was getting back together.  It got me wondering how a song can be crafted that gives it a timeless quality, like how their songs from 20 years ago still sound fresh today.  While pondering this, I was browsing the scarification galleries, when I cam across this image by Gabor Zagyvai.

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    Which brings me back to Soundgarden.  While you may or may not be a fan of theirs, any songwriter will tell you how difficult it can be to craft a song, let alone one that an audience will enjoy.  So for the purpose of this discussion, just replace Soundgarden with your favorite musician/composer/band.  Like the process in creating a scar, time is meticulously spent over every aspect of the scar.  Width of the lines, depth, getting the design perfect, choosing the right blade, and then the placement on the body.  All of those factors are considered well before the first cut is made.  The same can be said about a piece of music.  The right notes, lyrics, tempo, instruments can make the difference between a horrible piece of music and a beautiful one.  Like scars, these pieces of music will live on well past the time they were created.

    Of course this can be said about any form of art, which is exactly what Gabor has done here with this piece.  This piece is only one of several that were uploaded in the past day. Gabor’s own gallery has the entire collection, where many of them have healed images alongside the fresh ones.  So while this scar may not be your cup of tea, there are a lot of other beautiful scars you can check out.

  • Gotta catch’em all!

    Written by

    Rob

    Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Pokemon.  Good.  Now if you’ve never seen the TV show, lower your hand.  Finally, if you’ve never played any of the games (card or video) lower your hand.  Those of you with your hands still up.  You should probably put them down, people will start staring at you wondering why there’s a crazy person starting at their computer with their hand in the air.

    Now if you raised your hand at any point, congratulations, you’ve been exposed at some point in your life to the cultural phenomenon that’s been going on almost as long as that documentary about Allen has been in existence.  I think what is interesting to note at first, is that the first generation of kids that got into Pokemon are well into their 20s.  So it should come as no surprise that Pokemon related modifications are becoming more prevalent.

    When it comes to a pop-culture related mod, a lot depends on context.  I know that if I had gotten say a River City Ransom or Clash at Demonhead tattoo 10 years ago, only people my age would have a clue as to what they were a reference to.  Now with films like Scott Pilgrim coming out (seriously, best movie I’ve seen in 10 years, go watch it) you have this resurgence of classic pop-culture being exposed to a generation that wasn’t even born before the N64 was released.  Now when it comes to Pokemon, you’re seeing a completely different type of generational culture attachment.  Pokemon is still going strong today.  We’re at a point with it where the kids who were part of the first wave of fans, are now sitting down with their own children to play the games.  For someone my age it’s hard to imagine that occurring for me.  While Pokemon is still popular with the young folk, the shows and games I grew up on are only getting a resurgence in popularity due to nostalgia.  Some may argue that the exposure is still present, and while it may be, the children of my generation will only be able to watch the shows and play the games we grew up on if we were able to hold on to our childhood possessions.  Granted, I personally thought ahead.  If I ever have a child, when they’re old enough to play video games, the first game they will play will be Super Mario Bros on my original NES.  When they want to watch a cartoon, I’ve got the full collections of GI JOE and Transformers sitting on a shelf waiting for them.  So yes, the exposure to these classic pop-culture icons will essentially be forced, it’s nice to know that with the digital age those younger than me can enjoy the games they played as a child with their children, at it will still be culturally relevant.

    Now, seeing as how I may have exposed myself as a geek, let me distract you with a picture of one of those Pokemon fans that has grown up and gotten a scarification piece done of their favorite Pokemon, #38 Ninetails (I had to look that up).

    ninetails

    So, those of you who raised your hands, what was your favorite Pokemon?

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