Video, 2:04, color, 2014

 

A choice of mark placed on the body, used to represent the self, tattoos perhaps fail to embody the deepest parts of identity for that exact reason – they are chosen. What shapes and defines us is often what we have little to no control over – family, love, loss, origin, location. They remain permanent marks whether or not we chose to display them. 

 

If our skin represented us accurately, if we had no choice, how would our tattoos appear? How would our bodies represent us, should these markings emerge on their own accord? Each with their own intensity, duration, and size, they would become not chosen marks, but true representations of what shapes identity, mirroring what is held inside.