Controversial Contemporary Tattoos

With the popularity of tattooing enjoying an all-time high, it is no surprise that plenty are jumping on the bandwagon.  TV shows like LA Ink have glamorised the industry even further and the stars’ antics off camera continue to raise the profile.  More and more people are trying to shock with their latest designs and quite frankly, they’re succeeding.

Genuine Body ‘Art’

The news was buzzing recently with reports that Damien Hirst was getting involved in inking on a very personal level. He designed a tattoo of a butterfly intended for the most intimate area of a young lady.  A shockingly graphic image of the finished inking was displayed on the launch issue of Garage, a new art and fashion magazine.  Shauna Taylor (23), the canvas for Hirst’s newest masterpiece, claims she’s thrilled with her tattoo, being particularly excited at the prospect of giving birth “through a Damian Hirst piece of art”.  She’s got a point.

Celebrity Ink

Another trail blazer, Rihanna, was criticized a couple of years ago for having an image of a gun tattooed on to her rib cage.  Given her all-too-personal involvement with violence, one would think she’d take a more cautionary approach.

Good old Angelina’s had a new tattoo added to her famous list of geographical coordinates of where her children hail from, both adopted and biological.  The new tattoo sparked rumours that she’s about to adopt again but her spokespeople claim it refers to the location of Brad Pitt’s birth.  Make of that what you will.

Playing the Long Game

But more and more people are just looking to shock with their body art.  That’s their prerogative of course, but what if it starts to interfere with their lives?  Tattoos are, after all, pretty much permanent.  (Yes you can have them removed but not without a lengthy commitment and quite a lot of money).  What if one day you decide you want a change in career and your ideal employer has a strict ‘no visible inkings’ policy?  That massive Swastika on your forehead doesn’t seem like such a good idea now, does it?

And what about your reproductive future?  Yes, you may be young, free and single now and it doesn’t bother anyone what you do, but if you want a family eventually you must be prepared for what your body art will mean then.  Huge, controversial tattoos are not exactly going to make the school run a barrel of laughs.

Keep it Temporary

There are plenty of temporary options out there for those who simply must decorate their bodies.  Madonna pioneered the henna craze in one of her videos and the effect was quite magnificent.

Tattooists now offer some exceptional approaches to temporary and semi-permanent tattoos and they often end up looking just as convincing as the real thing.  Semi-permanent tattoos can last for several years so they won’t come off in the shower like a cheap bubble gum transfer.

Temporary solutions also give the wearer the opportunity to make sure they are comfortable with a design before choosing to live with it permanently.