INK UP

I recently watched Miami Ink on Astro. Yeah I know it's been on for some time, but tak pernah tengok until now. Well, I know tattoo is haram in my religion, but it was fascinating to watch these really talented artists at work. A client comes in, tells them what he wants, they draw it on paper (freehand lagi tu!), and then magically transform the design from paper to skin.

Creativity is one thing, and perseverance is another. There was a lady who wanted a full back tatoo, and it took 7 hours to do it. Imagine sitting in one position and drawing the design pinprick by pinprick for 7 hours, mau patah pinggang tu.

Anyway, yes keeping in mind tattoo is prohibited in my religion, some of the more strategically placed tattoos were actually quite sexy :-) I don't mean on the genitals (ouch!), but at those cute places like at the base of the throat or neck, or at the small of the back, or on the shoulder blade, or on the hip, huuhhuuuhuuu!

Some tattoos are done as a dedication to a loved one, or to mark a certain event. For indigenous people like the Iban for instance, tattoos known as 'pantang' are a sign of bravery. Maoris also have tribal tatoos called 'Ta Moko' not only on the body but also the face, to depict a warrior status.

Some tattoos mark the belonging to a certain group, for example the traditional Japanese body suit tattoos called the 'irezumi', which is said to be favoured by the yakuza. How I wish I had the chance to see these in real life when I was there! The designs are rich and the colours vibrant, and steeped in symbolistic images like the dragon, the samurai sword et cetera.

And of course there's the army tattoos, and the prison tattoos, or some other brotherhood kinda thing tattoos.

And then, there's the crazy tatoos. Well, I won't say much about these, but have a look at some of 'em below hehehe :-)

Some are quite scary!

Oh lupa pulak, now with the latest technology, we have the blacklight tattoo, which is invisible to the naked eyes, but will magically appear under blacklight. This one I saw in an episode of CSI a few weeks back. Who says you can't learn from tv? :-)

Tapi... siapa kata orang melayu tak pakai tattoo? Isn't henna art a form of tattoo, albeit temporary? Hmmm... Cik Siti kita dulu pun ada buat henna art masa dia nak kawin setahun lepas kan?

( Maaf, aku tak sentuh isu hukum-hakam, I'll leave that to the more knowledgeable people lah.)


This one's done out of respect... Ghandi tu!

Anyone interested to ink up with a potrait of Pak Lah, maybe?

I wonder if this lower back tattoo would look good on me? :-)

Naahhh... I'm chicken, when it comes to situations involving voluntarily causing pain to my own body hehehe :-D

* pictures courtesy of the internet... wa cilok aje, jangan saman wa, wa takdak duit...