Tastes like chicken

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Well, at least that’s what the movies have told me to believe about the taste of human flesh.  I suppose it also matters if it is cooked or not.  Raw chicken meat is pretty much a no-go (with the exception of one breed that they’ve used on Iron Chef), so I think the same rules apply to human flesh as well.

Then there are those who like to laugh in the face of danger, go against the grain, and take some risks.  Of course the vast majority of the people who are willing to dine on raw flesh also have the slight problem of being one of the walking dead.

zombie

As far as zombie portraits go, this may be my new favorite one.  The fact that the portrait isn’t just a look at a zombie’s face, but it is one in motion, taking that first bite of flesh off of the screaming victim who obviously wasn’t adequately prepared.  I also like that if you look close enough you can make out little details, like the veins visible through the skin on the face.

The artist IAM:Nick Friederich, from Shelton Tattoo in Shelton CT, was featured last week as well with his portrait of Eva Angelina.

It makes you wonder, if Shaun and his friends can walk through a group of zombies acting like them, and Rick Grimes can cover himself with fluids from a corpse to get through a horde, would getting a zombie tattoo allow you to make it to safety without worrying about being bitten?

Basket weaving is so 10,000 years ago

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It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a surface weaving project of this scope, and seeing as how it is by Arawak from Saintes, France, the man responsible for the Marilyn Munroe portrait, it’s nice to see a follow up to the piece.

chaplin1

I really like how the Charlie Chaplin image is able to take a simple play piercing design, and connect the dots to form a distinct image.  The surface weaving gallery is pretty small so if this is something you’re capable of doing, please send in the images, as the potential for some incredible designs is huge with this technique.

If you want to see the before and after images, just keep on reading.

chaplin2

chaplin3

Now I know that right away you can see that the original image has been slightly photoshopped.  Normally I wouldn’t post an image that is obviously photoshopped, but given that it is only to remove the tattoo, and the galleries show that Arawak has done this type of project before, I don’t believe anything dealing with the surface weaving specifically has been altered in any way.

What are girls made of?

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Sugar and spice and everything nice?  That might apply to some girls, but definitely not every girl.

These hand tattoos show that while these girls may be made of sugar skulls, and they certainly have a bit of spice in them, I doubt they’d be up for having a tea party with the other nice girls.

sugar skulls

Jason Chappel sent in these sugar skull hand tattoos over the weekend, and with the Day of the Dead a little over a month away, it’s always good to plan ahead.  There are a few closeup images of each hand individually over in the hand tattoo gallery, if you feel like getting a closer look.

Of course not everyone celebrates the Day of the Dead, but a large portion of people in North America do celebrate Halloween which comes a couple days beforehand.  Which begs the question, do you have any plans made for either day yet?  Got your costume picked out?

Spiritual Cutting

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When creating a Buddha image, the artist is expected to be in a spiritual and mental state (samādhi) that will enable him to visualise this ideal reality. There is no requirement that every Buddha image be identical, and in fact there is a wide variety of artistic styles and national traditions in representing the Buddha.

–http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconography_of_the_Buddha

The process of getting a scar is unique to each person.  Yet in each time, the person receiving the scar is going through a mental state that is unlike any other.  In some of the comment sections recently people have criticized scarification work as “dumb” because you can “get a better result with a tattoo”.  What these people are failing to grasp is that the process, the healing, and the final product are very different from a tattoo.

Making these cuts into the skin, the artist is enabling the wearer to go through an experience that is both physically taxing, and spiritually moving.  To feel ones flesh being removed from the body, in a controlled manner, is one that requires a person to look inside and really become aware of their self.  When the process is finished, and the healing begins, again there is an element that is unique to scarification.  The resulting scar is not only the product of the work of the artist, but also the product of the body itself.  We all heal differently, and the scars that result are unique to each person.  It truly is an art form that requires both the mind and the body working in harmony to create the finished product.

Then there is the artist.  These talented men and women who have taken something naturally occurring (the formation of a scar) and have transformed it into an entirely unique form of art.  One such artist is Efix Roy, from Montreal.  This most recent scar was placed on none other than IAM: Caleigh Green.

buddha

The scar was created this past Saturday, and it’ll be nice to see it as it heals up.  There is another image of the scar behind the clickthough.  It’s closeups from a side angle so you can get an idea of the depth of the cuts.

closeup

BMXnet conference, 1 week away

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If you’re in Europe next week, and can make it over to Berlin, you’ll have the opportunity to check out the BMXnet conference that’s happening from the 16th to the 19th.  You can get the details about the conference at the BMXnet website.  There you’ll find out the times and locations of all the lectures and workshops taking place over the course of the weekend.

bmxnet 2010

BMXnet Conference 2010

Open for up to 500 Attendees / 6 Classrooms / huge Expo space!!!

Thu. 16th Sep. 2010 : Half- / Full-Day Classes and Workshops
Fri. 17th Sep. 2010 : 10:00am start Conference 2010
Sat. 18th Sep. 2010 : full day Conference 2010
Sun. 19th Sep. 2010 : 08:00pm end Conference 2010

Location:  Congress Hotel Holiday Inn – Berlin Schoenefeld

Wind blows, fire burns, rain falls…

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There are times when a film comes about that can have a profound effect on the viewers.  Sometimes it could simply be a single scene, for others the story itself carries the most weight.  Whatever the reasons, when a person has fallen in love with a film, they’ll often do something to recognize these feelings.  For the vast majority of people, simply buying a copy of a film, or viewing it multiple times is enough.  Yet for others, simply owning a film isn’t enough.  Which is why we see so many film inspired modifications.  From tattoos to scars, film symbolism is fairly prevalent within the modified community.  So it should come as no surprise that someone went out to get a small branding that reminds them of their favorite film.

5th element

If you don’t recognize the symbols, they’re from the film The 5th Element.  Each square represents one of the four classical elements: earth, water, fire, and air (wind).  When combined with the 5th Element, they summon Captain Planet.  Or is it save the world from destruction?  I get the two confused.

If you want to see who the arm belongs to, as well as some pictures of the branding taking place, just keep on reading, or head on over to the branding galleries.

branding

So do you have a favorite movie?  Are your feelings strong enough towards that film that you would get a modification that would remind you of the film?

Team BME in the flesh

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It’s been a while since we’ve seen a BME logo scar up on ModBlog.  This particular logo, if you’re not familiar with it, is the Team BME logo, which you can find pretty much all over the site nowadays.

IAM:Pineapple sent this one in, and it looks like it’s about as fresh as possible.  Now it could just be the contrast, but the red of the blood really pops out.

logo

Hopefully Pineapple will be sending in more photos as it heals up, as it looks like it’ll be a really good scar.  One of the great things about BME logos is that they’re more than just a product branding.  While BME is a company, it is also a community, and it is that community that makes BME the place it is.  All of the various logo designs created over the years have all come from within the community, and the Team BME logo itself represents not only a design from a hockey jersey, but all those members of the community that are part of BME4LIFE.  These are people who believe strongly in this community as it has touched them in some manner in their lives.

The community itself is such a wide and diverse group of people, and has been there for the highs and lows of life for many people.  How has the BME community affected your life?  Did someone in the community make an impact in your life?  Were you able to learn something about yourself or how you wish to modify yourself through BME?

Love Cubed

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Video courtesy IAM: JackeeLynn

Let me start with a quick thank you to JackeeLynn for letting me use the video of her solving a Rubik’s cube.  If it isn’t obvious by now, this post is about the most famous puzzle cube ever invented.

Like LEGO fans, the Rubik’s cube has a loyal following of people who collect cubes.  The majority of these collectors are also the ones who can solve a cube effortlessly because they know the special algorithms that make solving the cube easy.  Now when I first got a cube I got frustrated and took off all the stickers to solve it.  As I got older I found that smashing the cube and putting it back together worked much better.  Did anyone else use these techniques, or was I the only one who couldn’t solve the cube at 4?

Now as much as Jackee loves her LEGO and her cube, the person sporting this tattoo may outdo her love for the cube.

The following image was sent in by SailorxDani as part of the Mutiny Tattoo mini-portfolio on BMEzine.com.  I don’t know who the recipient is, but it’s clear they not only love Mr. Rubik’s invention, but they added a nice sentiment to go along with it.  Not everyone is a perfect cube, and as long as you’re happy with yourself, that’s all that matters.

cube

Just in case it wasn’t clear, that isn’t Jackee’s tattoo, although you can see hers in this ModBlog post from back in February.

I’ve got one more picture from SailorxDani to share with you, but to save some space you’ll have to click the read more button.  I must warn you, the image may bug you.

bug!

As far as palm tattoos go, that one is pretty awesome.  Too bad it’ll probably fade out quickly.

Risk vs Reward

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When it comes to modifications, there is always an element of risk involved.  Obviously with some there is more risk than others.  Piercings can reject, tattoos can fallout, scars can get infected, the list goes on.  These of course are all “what ifs”, but the potential for problems are present with every one.  When it comes to the world of suspensions, the risks are higher, but the rewards can be greater.  With people pushing the limits of suspensions all over the world, it’s important to remember to be safe.  There are a number of resources and organizations dedicated to promoting safe practices when it comes to all types of suspensions.

Now with that all said, there are times when things may be set up safely, but if the suspension is inherently a risky one the potential for something to go wrong is still heightened.  Heck, even when everything is set up perfectly for a suspension that would be considered “easy” by practitioners, that doesn’t mean the element of danger isn’t present and things should be monitored closely.

In the following pictures you’ll see The J-3-D performing one of the riskiest suspensions, the single point elbow suspension.  I’ve gotten in touch with members of the suspension community that assured me that while everything is good with the rigging, this type of suspension is extremely dangerous to do, and should not be attempted unless there are a number of experts present.  So have a look at these images to see exactly why this suspension is so risky.

elbow1

The rest of the images you can see by clicking the “read more” button.

elbow2

elbow3

As you can see, everything was set up correctly, although I was told the placement of the hook could have been a little better.  From my understanding the suspension lasted around 1 minute, before he needed to come down.

This is where the risk element comes into play.  While the reward for performing a dangerous suspension that not a lot of people have done is high, the risk is also very high.  As you can see by this last image, with everything set up within safe standards, bad things can still happen.

aftermath

If you can’t make out the details, what has happened is he has suffered a complete tear through his arm.  You can see the full sized image by clicking on the picture, but if you’re squeamish, you may not want to.  Then again, this is ModBlog, I don’t think we have too many readers who are squeamish.

You can get a better look at these images, and the rest of the photos from the suspension in the ritual galleries under “other suspensions“.

I want to mention again, that this type of suspension is extremely risky and should only be performed under the direct supervision of an experienced practitioner.

Geared up for a scar

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Earlier today we saw how the modifications on a young woman’s face really accentuated her beauty.  I thought I should even it up for those who prefer to see modified boys.  Now I’m not sure if the guy in the picture is a steampunk fan, a Gears of War fan, a mechanic, or something else entirely, but what I do know is that he really must like the gear design as that’s a lot of flesh that was removed for the scar.

gears

So what do you think?  Does the scar on this guy work as well as the piercings and tattoos from the girl earlier today?