BODY LANGUAGE

2017-2018

Body Language is a project inspired by the conversations and stories that are told between the artist and the canvas during a tattoo session, a space that is (in my case) regarded as intimate and safe. The project explores human emotions and inner, immediate thoughts through layering; and the transitional complexities of how those are filtered from the within to the outward. How and what gets projected and how it is seen from the outside.

Using skin as the central thought of the process, the work is developed layer by layer, painting a cluster of forms and shapes that represents certain inner emotions.

When approached for a tattoo request, it is part of the practice to work up a concept that dissects the immediate idea; developing on ideas and using that to create a design that truly illustrates what the client intends. These artworks that are etched onto skin, undergo the same creative process as the paintings, are also the basis of how the conversations arise, with the realisation that what is expressed from the outside is a small portion of what is felt on the inside. Combining the photograph of the tattoo with the outer paintings showcases one’s personal concepts, meanings and justifications transitioning through beyond their skin; exploring both their inner and outer strength and vulnerability. Bringing a paralleled juxtaposition of skin as a direct metaphor of connection through the act of emotional dissection.

Tattoos executed by me
Photo collage mixed media on canvas