As an individual who has been in touch with body modification for the past 12 years, I witness the transition of the scene here in Singapore. "Is the scene moving in a more positive or negative way" is the question I often ask myself.
At A Glance Author bloodbath Contact [email protected] IAM bloodbath When N/A Singapore, as compared to many other countries like Canada and USA, is still very conservative in the variety of modification practiced, observed and accepted. 12 years back, it was a whole lot worse. Tattoos are for the mobsters and piercings for the quirks. There were only a couple of places where tattoo studios could be found and from my memory, only a couple of piercing studios ( excluding any individuals who might perform piercings at home) existed. With few practitioners, it is not difficult to explain the minimal minority of people who are modified. As years go by, tattoo and piercing studios are almost countless. In terms of options, the expansion of the scene is definitely going on the hopeful path for people like me.
Not only does the number of studios increase tremendously, so did the variety of modification. It is no longer just about piercings and tattoos but more extreme modifications such as split tongues, subdermal & transdermal implants and scarifications. The people here depended highly on foreign artists like iam: oscar navarro till we have our local artist, Shane (iam: incisionglory), who courageously took the step to perform some extreme modifications. Therefore, the area of practice here is widened. At the same time, piercings and tattoos are better perceived though it is still a very subjective topic to touch on. At least, tattoos and piercings can be for the angels too.
When it feels a bed of roses, the thorns start to prick. In the group of the modified, the majority comes from people in the age range of 16 to 21 years old. The age is not the disturbing factor, their reasons might be. Many of them get modified at an increasing rate. Today their canvases clean, tomorrow heavily inked. I have witnessed this sudden change in these young boys and girls and I cannot help but worry for them. Many of them claimed that body modification is their passion, some said their lives. The question here would be, how can passion be cultivated overnight?
Passion builds over time, regardless in which aspect of a person's life. Very often, we are looking at the number of years and not days. I've known some girls who turn from a plain Jane to one who is heavily inked or pierced after they got into a relationship with a modified individual. I fail to believe that passion kicks into these girls almost immediately after dating someone who lives a modified lifestyle. I cannot decipher how passion can be a player in situations as such. I can only conclude that passion is overused and terribly misunderstood.
In addition, many of these heavily tattooed boys claimed to have the ambitions of being tattoo artists. Is it really an ambition or just a career that will accept any form of modification they have? If it is the latter, I cannot imagine the type of "artists" Singapore is going to have. Many of them might think it would be perfectly fine to venture in this area and back out if this job doesn't work out for them. However, the biggest problem they would face is what to work as with arms of full sleeves or tattooed necks. I do have a friend who came to me and confessed that the tattoo industry does not work out well for him but he cannot think of what other jobs he can look for. I have to agree with him that it is very difficult for him to get a job here in Singapore and maybe even many other countries with a heavily tattooed body and pierced face including a scapelled labret.
Though I would hope the modern society could be more acceptable to body modification, it is still a fact that it isn't so. This is a fact that everyone including you and me has to face in this realistic world. Most importantly, we still have to feed ourselves, isn't it? I strongly believe that if one does not consider their modification plans with their brain, they might as well live without one.
It may not seem to be my problem but inevitably, my concern. If it is a trend to them, it may be one that leads to regrets in few years' time. If it is to shout for attention, I would suggest going for a more extreme haircut. Many fail to understand that body modification is a journey in life. It basically is a lifestyle. Not all forms of modification are reversible and for this fact alone, any plans to modify your body should be taken into great consideration because we are talking about something that is more than just shopping for clothes. It is also not a race, so why rush? Regardless of how passionate I am to body modification, I do not think one should allow what we do to our bodies to dictate our lives because if so, this journey is going to be tougher than it already is.