The art of inking the body

Abstract

This visual research focuses on tattooing as a grief and healing ritual in the context of my personal experiences. Some years ago, I underwent a significant episode of change in my personal and professional life. This was accompanied by severe depression and anxiety. I gravitated towards acquiring symbolic tattoos to navigate this period of struggle and memorialise myself in that moment; and as that took place, I could feel myself undergoing significant change. Through the ritual of tattooing, I could physically materialise the emotional pain I was experiencing at the time. Influenced by artists Fabio Viale (b. 1975) and Shawn Barber (b. 1970), I use various mediums, including pen, oil, acrylic, tattoo ink, resin, video, and sound to explore tattooing's role in processing emotional pain, grief, and change in identity. This thesis situates my personal experiences within broader cultural contexts, showing how tattoos connect and communicate on both individual and interpersonal levels. I unpack how tattooing qualifies as such a ritual and a meaningful way to alleviate emotional pain with physical pain as a transformative experience. As tattoos are symbolic images in the skin, I explore how symbolism is involved in this process and the dynamic of grief and healing, and, as a result, its impact on individual and social identity.