Tattoos: the sign of uniqueness

Tattoos are a form of creative expression and to understand them we need to analyse a series of factors that have influenced their development throughout the different social and cultural contexts. Throughout this project, we will discover the reasons why tattoos are no longer taboo and have become more widespread in our society.

It is true to say that we live in a system that determines certain socio-economic conditions which are imposed on any body and have led to a series of cultural changes that have resulted in personality standardisation. The media influences us and establishes a series of consumption and behaviour guidelines. Using networks could support the idea that we are immersed in a social context where the power of the image and appearance dominate over reality. Paradoxically, despite this, image also enables us to make associations with feelings, statuses, bonds of affection, etc. which go beyond superficiality.

Given the loss of values and individual identity caused by the standardisation of lifestyle proposed by the system in the capitalist society, we use the image tattooed on our bodies as a way of representing our existential reasons of identity. The taste for tattoos comes from an ambiguous blend of the demand for the uniqueness of the individual and its exteriorisation compared with the subjection of the social context: in short, reproducing an act of aesthetic consumption to accredit the fact that we belong to our environment. Even so, tattoos are not just seen as a product of aesthetic consumption, but, at the same time, they create a bond with a state of physical permanency that imbues them with a value that is both symbolic and aesthetic, personal and one which identifies us.

Creative tattoo expression now focuses primarily on the individual, the environment and the society in which they live, their concerns, ideas and feelings that this expression conveys. Tattoos create a visceral connection between the artistic expression of the tattooist and the individual tattooed. It is becoming a communication tool between individuals today, for whom it offers the possibility of seeing themselves represented through an aesthetic change, which distinguishes them and identifies them with ideas and values that they consider to be their own, represented usually in symbolic forms inserted into their skin permanently.

My aim was to accompany this partly creative research work which I carried out both in a qualitative and intellectual sense, thanks to the knowledge acquired from studying tattoo design. I wanted to create a set of illustrations that had my own personal style and apply it to tattoos. In order to assess and analyse my work, I need to have a clear idea of my references. The basis to my style, what motivates me and what drives my creativity comes from a series of trends that are currently defining a new road map in the world of tattoos.

Since there is a qualitative leap in terms of the technical skill involved in tattoos regarding illustrations, some have not been tattooed, however, despite this, the collection is still an example of my creative ability and a challenge for me to achieve in terms of my tattooing.