Wordl Mood Board - Jamie Ellis, Candidate number 9150

The various words in this word board are what tattoos mean to me, what I feel are the main topics and controversy's when getting a tattoo what people consider about tattoos to be wrong and the whole reason for someone to get a tattoo in the first place. Words will overlap as words can have a 1000 different meanings to loads of different people.

So... 

The words that represent what tattoos are to me, as the words: Healing, Spiritual, Memory, Message. 

Healing: Tattoos are more than just ink. I know this. I know people who consider tattoos to be a form of spiritual healing to them. That the tattoos on their bodies are a form of redemption.

Spiritual: Tattoos, more often than not, are created with a meaning behind it, often spiritual. These can vary from giving the wearer good fortune, to showing praise or dedication to someone/something. This line of thought in tattoos come from the concept of the tatau. 

Memory: People get tattoos for honouring the deceased, remembering them and as a symbol of carrying them with you forever more. This is a very noble idea when it comes to tattoos, that you're going through physical pain to adorn yourself with the memory of a fallen/lost one. 

Message: Messages are also very commonplace in the realm of tattoos. They can range from references to tv shows, showing loyalty to something for example a gang tattoo all the way up showing people a new perspective on life or showing people what you believe in as a person. 

The words which I believe represent main topics for tattoos are: Fear, Pollution, Mistake, Opinion, Healing, Redemption, Unison and Conflict. 

Fear: People fear what they don't understand. And with tattoos, that's very natural. People will look upon, for example, a tattoo of a gun with someone’s name on it. Now, people may take this literally at first glance and believe that this person wishes to use a gun on someone with that name, when in fact it may be a memory of a loved one that was lost to a firearm. 

Pollution: This word springs to mind the Christian arguments that go on about the sanctity of the human body and we shouldn't pollute and scar it with ink in our flesh. Our flesh is sacred in all aspects and we shouldn't de-face it as god doesn't have a defaced body and ours was made in likeness of god and it should remain that way. So...some people believe that tattoos are pollution in our skin. 

Mistake: This word I chose in this sense because it could be seen as penance for a past mistake? A reminder of past deeds that they wish they hadn't done or that they wish they could've prevented and this tattoo is either a way of penance for their mistake, a reminder of what happened or as a form of redemption which ties into why i chose that word in this sense. 

Opinion: This word is the epitome of tattoos. Opinion. It's your opinion on them. It’s your opinion of their meaning. It’s all different opinions hosted by different people. What can tattoos do? Many opinions. Are they good or evil? Again, opinions. Are they always symbolic? Or merely decoration? Opinions. And that's what this word speaks to me. The world of tattoos cannot be written, it cannot be defined by just one soul, it's a plethora of opinions, emotions, meanings, stories, religions, beliefs and the list goes on. Which is what I’m hoping we can show with our documentary. That tattoos aren't solely one thing. They're a multitude of topics and meanings that are different every time to each person viewing them. That they're not evil, that they are used for good things too. 

Healing: This word, again, I chose it because tattoos can be a way of emotionally healing yourself. There was a story I've heard in which a woman had lost both her breasts to cancer and that she felt emotionally crushed by this. She felt ugly, she felt worthless. But then she got tattoos. She felt beautiful again, she felt confident again and she felt like she could live her life again. And that is what is truly amazing at what tattoos mean to some people and what they can offer. 

Redemption I've mentioned in the Mistake word description, about atoning in some way and allowing tattoos to help or be a part of atonement/penance. 

Unison: Tattoos are a great way of sending hidden message to those who know how to read them. The best examples of these are prisons and gangs. They label their members with tattoos to show ranking within the group or to show accolades that person has been awarded. Another example of unison tattoos is couple tattoos. The types of tattoos that a husband and wife might get or between a parent and child. These are typically someone’s name or his or her face or a sentimental line of text that means the world to the bearer of that tattoo

Conflict: This is exactly what goes on inside the world of tattoos. The main conflict is people opinions I’ve mentioned that already in the “Opinion” word description.

The other side to conflict is real world conflict. Wars and battles, they have the potential for loss of life and that idea of getting a tattoo is talked about in the “Memory” word description. Our military also has an idea of getting a tattoo to show your loyalty to your unit and to the country your fighting for. This idea obviously hails from the roman legion.

The words I chose to represent why you’d get a tattoo in the first place were: Spiritual, Memory, Conflict, Mistake and Tattoo

Spiritual: This word I chose because in many base cultures around the world, people received tattoos for any number of spiritual reasons. From supposed enhanced abilities to being initiated into a position of power and then in some cases of being prepared for a ceremony.

Memory: I’ve talked about the memory message, in which you would get a tattoo to remember a lost member of the family or somebody that you deeply cared about.

Conflict: I’ve spoken about the ideas behind conflict and how they relate to memory, that conflict can be a direct cause to create the need for a memory. 

Mistake: Again, this word could relate to many different ideas. The tattoo could relate to having made a mistake and the tattoo is a reminder of that mistake. However, the tattoo itself could be the mistake. It’s the mistake and isn’t valued by the bearer.

Tattoo: This word I chose because there are some people who get tattoos for the sake of getting a tattoo. This could be because they get pleasure out of the pain of the tattoo. They like the release of the chemicals that getting a tattoo releases. Or, they could simply believe that tattoos look good and they believe it will make them attractive.