01 May My Pretty Skin
MY PRETTY SKIN – A photo story of people, their tattoos and the meaning behind them
Tattoos can bear all sorts of meanings – from a memory of a loved person to a reminder that hard times are fugacious, over to that a strong friendship can handle long distances and sometimes they don’t have a meaning at all. The art on our bodies can be personal and complicated. But no matter what feelings we connect with our tattoos, we carry them with us. Every minute of every day, until the end of our lives. The purpose of this photo story is to show how a piece of colourful, pretty skin can mean for us.
Linda
“I got the tattoo in October 2013. When I went to Mallorca I got a henna tattoo with a friend and I really liked the design. And this made me want to have it as a tattoo. My tattoo contains quite a lot of detail and I like the style of the eyes. “
Milena
“I got the tattoo two weeks after I turned 18, so March 2013. The meaning behind is that I got through my depression the year before but had no idea who I was. I had to figure it out and I did it through writing, that’s why it’s a quill. I really like how it turned out. I designed it myself so it is very me and later on, I want to add little birds flying from it. I want the amount of birds to be the amount of my future kids, but that’s far away.”
Ash
“I got it in April 2013. It is a quote from my favourite novel, “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald, and underneath it has my mum’s date of birth as one number. She died when I was 5 and I interpret the quote as highlighting how we, as humans, always think we are steadily moving forward but a part of us will always live in the past. I like the design because it is very simple and ambiguous. No one would know what it meant unless they asked. It is more a reminder for me than a tattoo for everyone to see.”
Bridget
“The 18th of May is when I got it. For me elephants are like my infinity sign – they’re known for having ‘forever memories’ and it helps me to remember that the things we do stay with us for life. I really like the simplicity of it. Because it is just an outline, there is room to change it or add more later if I ever want to.”
Lisa
“I got it in November 2013. Harry Potter was the first book I ever read myself and I’ve been addicted to reading ever since. And when I was in sixth form, we had to organise loads of parties and our prom and everything was Harry Potter themed. So it reminds me of a really great part of my life. I like that is a really crisp and sharp, black shape. Also, it is a matching tattoo with my best friend.”
Katharine
“I got the tattoo when I was 18, so two years ago. It was my third tattoo in fours months. After my granddad died my nan would always ask me to put three roses on his grave. They represented his three grandchildren. And to me it represents him. I love that there is no black outline. That’s what makes it a good realism tattoo.”
Freya
“I got it done January 2015. It’s the title of one of my favourite songs and to free fall means you can’t control everything, it represents letting things happen just how they’re meant to, which is what I needed at the time. I just like that it’s simple, my other tattoos are more detailed so I went for something small and simplistic.”
Poya
“It was done in the summer of 2012, in Spain. There is no real meaning behind it. I was drunk and it was a cool and fun looking-tattoo to get. It’s simple and discreet.”
Sanna
“I got it on the 25th of June 2014, together with a friend from New Zealand. She was about to move back there after a year in England. We chose the compass as a symbol for our friendship and that it would remain strong even though we would live on different sides of the earth. I like the simple arrows and that it is facing towards me.”
Shannon
“I got the tattoo July last year and I’d really wanted it for about a year and a half before when I listened to this song and the lyrics stood out immediately because I had just applied to live away for university. My home and my family means the world to me and the lyric ‘my heart wants to come home’ means more to me than any lyric ever has. Wherever I am in the world my heart will always want to be at home with the people I love. I love the typography, it looks typed up and old, it’s cool!”
