Oh man, I’ve been waiting for this follow-up every since I posted about this scar back in June. Thankfully Richard “Effin” Ivey was able to track Velo down to grab another photo of the scar six weeks into the healing process.
You know, come to think of it, Evan there deserves a BMEBoy tag on this post.
Ganesha is a deity the represents a number of things. He is the remover of obstacles, patron and arts and sciences, and deva of intellect and wisdom. Portrayed here as a cutting, one could interpret this piece as Ganesha removing the obstacle, in this case the skin, to allow the person to become who they want to be, using the art of scarification as the method of their transformation. Richard Effin Ivey has been putting out a lot of cuttings with spiritual connotations, and each seems better than the last.
Wow this week seems to have flown by. We’ve had ear pointing, foot tattoos-a-plenty, an interesting round of “Guess What?”, and of course the birthday of our own Sean Philips. Now that Friday is here, it’s time for this week’s follow-up. This week we’re looking at a scar we saw just over a month ago from Misty. Her Santa Muerte scar blended in Catholic imagery of Mary to create a good looking scar.
To see how it looks today, you know what to do.
Those of you familiar with Jainism will recognize this symbol right away. For those that don’t, the palm with the wheel signifies Ahimsa, one of the main principles of Jainism. It essentially is a symbol meaning to do no harm to any other living creature. Seeing it in this form is interesting, as the creation of this involved not only cutting but branding as well, both of which are pretty harmful. So who better than a minister then to create this piece. Richard Effin Ivey is a minister with the Church of Body Modification, and part of his personal beliefs is using modification for spiritual growth and harmony. Richard serves as a conduit, bringing his faith and skill into his work so that the owner of this scar will take away something that will be with him forever in body, mind, and spirit.
Richard works at Warlock’s Tattoo in Raleigh, NC.
Over the past 6 months we’ve been following the progress of Southtownbaby’s scarification work. As a new scarification artist she’s been sharing with the community and listening to the feedback. In her latest scar, she tackles the image of Santa Muerte, the Mexican saint of death.
You can see more of Misty’s work in her BME Portfolio Gallery.
My only complaint is that TrickyDick didn’t take more photos of this. The image of Thích Quảng Đức’s self-immolation has been burned into the collective consciousness of the world since that fateful afternoon in 1963. Granted most people just recognize him as the burning monk on the Rage Against the Machine album, but his contribution to history will be remembered by Buddhists as long as they’re around.
Feel free to harass Rich to send in follow-up photos to the scarification galleries.
Ladies and Gentlemen and everyone in between, I’d like to present to you, hailing from Quebec City, in his twentieth appearance on ModBlog, IAM’s own Efix!
I’d say a round of applause is in order, not only for this being his 20th feature, but also for making such an incredible scar of the Ashtamangala, the 8 Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism. I could go on about the spiritual meanings of each of the symbols, but I think I’d rather just take a look at the scar, and congratulate Efix on reaching this milestone. You can see even more of his work over in his own scarification gallery. As for the owner of the scar, the only thing I know is that according to Efix, he is “one tuff motherfucker”.
Hot on the heels of our esteemed religious coverage from earlier this week, Andrea at White Light Tätowierungen in Berlin, Germany, sends in this photo of a cutting she did months ago, well along into the healing process and looking pretty fantastic, yes? Yes. Sure, the Owl God is nowhere to be found, but He’s always there in spirit, hootin’ the night away, swooping down to swipe rats and beetles out of the soil for all of eternity, amen.
See more in “Misc. Cuttings“ (Scarification)
Forgive the tardiness, ModBloggers, but your editor has thrown out his stupid shitty back and has been laid up on the couch in substantial pain for the past 15 hours or so, because he is the oldest man alive. Please accept, as penance, this intense series of photos from Chris of Shi’a Muslims in Nabatiyya, Lebanon, participating in traditional rites in observance of Ashura, the “holiest day of the Shiite Muslim calendar.” According to Chris (and Wikipedia!), it “marks the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.” Apparently, this sort of bloodletting (which the men are doing to themselves with those large machetes*) is frowned upon by some Muslim clerics, but…well, not all of them, I guess. More photos after the jump.
*Says Chris: “They actually cut their scalps with straight razors and chant with the machetes. Only the really hard-core guys cut themselves with the machetes (and chains).”
Hey, that was an exciting-ish day, right? A Lionel tattoo, L’il Mister Strange, and a glorious running diary of one of those newfangled tattoo reality shows. Let’s wind down with this beautiful scarification project composed of Hindu iconography—Trishula, Om and Swastika. Two months into the healing process, these pieces were done by Dimitri working out of Officina in Milano, Italy. Between the precision of the design and the evenness of the way they’re healing, this is shaping up to be a truly gorgeous piece. Sleep on that, ModBloggers. We’ll see you tomorrow.
See more in “Misc. Cuttings“ (Scarification)
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