By Charles Mgbolu
Imprinting tattoo art is a painstaking process of tiny needle pricks on often tender, reddened skin that lasts for hours.
It has been practised for centuries and tells stories that sway very unpredictably, from bold and outrageous totems to crisp, intimate notes or symbols.
‘’It has become a powerful tool of expression for young people,’’ says John Nwosu, a filmmaker and tattoo wearer in Lagos, Nigeria.
‘’Young Africans want to be different. For me, I am wearing a tattoo because I do not want to be seen as just a cliché. I want to be unique,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
John’s tattoo, branded boldly across his back and right shoulder, is truly unique and perhaps mystifying.
‘’My tattoo is a huge heart sign that spews a wildfire. It means the fire of God in me, and it’s very intimate to me. That’s why I wear it where only I can see it,’’ he says.
Unique stories
For Marcos Levy, a singer and songwriter from Praia Island in Cabo Verde, tattoos are a deep expression of art much stronger than spoken words.
‘’Tattoos are wearable arts where we express ourselves and tell our unique stories. It is a permanent reminder of the things we love and cherish,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
Tattoo wearers are fighting valiantly for acceptance in some societies.
‘’In the 1990s and 2000s, it would have been impossible to see, for example, in the corporate world, a member of staff in an office spotting a tattoo, but times are now changing,’’ says Ashley Philips from South Africa, who works in the customer care department of a bank.
Tattoo regrets
‘’I have a tattoo that looks like a bracelet circling my wrist. When I interviewed for the job, it was merely given a glance and nothing more. For me, it’s my fashion statement where I tell everyone that I am beautiful,’’ she tells TRT Afrika.
But tattoos can have a dark side where the wearer suddenly becomes awash with regret.
‘’I felt so restless until I got my chest tattoo. It was as if nothing else in life matters,’’ says Azeez, a Nigerian DJ and hairdresser.
‘’But after getting it, I was suddenly filled with so much regret. I looked at the tattoo and I asked myself, 'What is this?’,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
John Nwosu understands this feeling: 'It is the unpredictability of young people,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
‘’Many people wear tattoo art because they have seen it on their friends, because they think it’s a fad, or because they want to impress others. But if you do not feel a deep and emotional connection to the message in your tattoo art, you may regret wearing it.’’
Onoyungbo Taiwo, a fitness trainer with a catalogue of tattoos on his torso, advised that tattoos should only come with meanings that endure.
‘’I actually love art, and each of the tattoos on my body are all about my precious daughter,’’ he tells TRT Afrika.
Irrespective of the feelings that accompany wearing tattoos, some young people have found a voice in this art form.
‘’Embrace the ink and let our skin be our own canvas,’’ singer Marcus from Cabo Verde concludes.
