social issue - tattoo awareness

tattoo awareness

in today's society it is almost considered normal for someone to have tattoos and piercings or some other kind of body modification. depending on the generation, there is still a bad stigma that follows people with tattoos. some say it's unprofessional, but how can something as simple as expressing yourself be considered unprofessional? instead of using a canvas and paint or a piece of paper and a pen, some people choose to express themselves by using their own skin as a canvas. people get tattoos for reasons ranging from a death in their lives to something as simple as it makes them feel good about themselves. there should be nothing unprofessional about expressing yourself for others to see. another stigma that follows tattoos is their association with gangs and prisons and violence. just because some criminals have tattoos doesn't automatically make every person with tattoos a criminal.

the idea for this project is to show that there is no "stereotypical" tattooed person anymore. there isn't any kind of person who is more inclined to get tattoos than another, almost everyone has a tattoo nowadays. people in their 80's are getting their first tattoo because society is changing and it's about time we welcome the change with open arms. someone should not be declined a job because of their tattoos, just like you shouldn't be declined a job for having a disability.

i wanted to show that there really isn't a difference between someone who has their body covered with tattoos and someone who chooses to not have any tattoos. we're all people, we all have things that make us uniquely different from another, and sometimes people choose to show that difference outwardly while others choose to hide their individuality and play follow the leader; it's time we start thinking for ourselves and giving people who might look slightly different a chance to prove just how capable they are in society and in their personal lives.

the project

the idea behind this project is that it would be a postcard series that would have a different picture on the front, and on the back there would be part of a larger image. after collecting all 12 post cards, you would be able to see what the last image is (the very last image in this series of pictures). as someone who has tattoos, and was raised by a family who looked down on people with tattoos, i've had to break the stigma over and over again, proving to my family that my way of expressing myself isn't bad or wrong, it's just different and not what they're used to. over the years my family has come more understanding and open minded, but there are always those times when you can see their distaste in the new piece of art i come home with.