TATTOOS IN HIDDEN PLACES...

Recently (and I’m not entirely sure why) I looked at my tattoos and studied each one. Initially, I was trying to decide whether they needed to be ‘brought back to life’ or not. But after a little while, I found myself reminiscing on the meaning of each one.

At the age of 18 (1998 - College), I chose to get inked and it was quite a big deal back then. 2 of my friends at the time were also super keen to be tattooed, however, we knew that our parents would be furious with us. Nonetheless, we saved up our allowance and had every intention of going through with the carefully planned “Tattoo Adventure”.

Buzzing, literally giggling and dancing as we made our way from College to the tattooist in Forest Gate, East London, we arrived at the small shop adjacent to a hair salon and instantly felt panicked! It would be a while before choosing which one of us would go first. One of my friends did (she chose to have a butterfly tattooed on one of her breasts), I was second and the third bailed! LOL! I decided on, what I felt at the time, was a bold choice (albeit not as bold as my friend with the butterfly)...

At the top of my right arm, I have a dolphin leaping through the sun, which I chose from a collection of designs at the shop. I was SO in love with it and use to look at it almost all the time. It made me feel happy, energised, confident, hopeful, at peace and motivated. Why? For me, it represented my lust for adventure, my fascination with dolphins (not the pink ones, lol) and my dream to live somewhere sunny, remote, close to the water and peaceful. I still feel this way about it, but, it’s fading slightly so I may have it redone at some point.

It wasn’t until I turned 23 or 24 that I invested in my second body art. This one was to be designed by my boyfriend at the time. An incredible dancer of Nigerian heritage who was shy, but charismatic and impressionable, but not somebody who was ever in your face, soft-spoken but firm when he needed to be, a great cook, always a lot of fun and he had the most calming nature. With both of us being performers and creators, to say that our love for the arts was on another level didn’t even come close to how we felt about the industry. Randomly, we also became obsessed with Adidas and it was quite intense, LOL!!

I wanted a tattoo that would represent my relationship with the arts and my desire to stick with it while also wanting to be free of all the ‘drama’ (no pun intended) that came (and still comes) with it. He created his own version of the comedy and tragedy masks attached to a chain held by a hand in a closed fist which was spot on! It took over 20 minutes for the tattooist (the same one in Forest Gate) to finish inking my lower back. I was dripping the world of sweat, but, when it was done, I instantly felt empowered. It is my least favourite tattoo whenever I put on weight (sigh) however, the representation and feeling when I look at it are the same.

FYI: These were the clearest pics I could snap myself of the tattoos below...

On the back of my neck, I have a small tattoo which took about 5 minutes to ink of a heart with an upside-down music note. My love for music has been apparent since I was a child. Music is freedom for me and always will be. It is my joy, my pick-me-up, my answers, my redirection, my release, my mood shake, my wake-up call, my dose of real talk, my spring clean backdrop, my sanity. Music is my go-to for everything. Put a feel-good riddim on, especially a tune from the ’90s, and I am a different woman with moves nobody knew existed. LOL!

“Defective stars”. This is what I asked for when I walked into an unfamiliar tattoo shop one day sometime between 2006 and 2007 when I was struggling emotionally and mentally; I have no clear memory of the whole tattoo experience, but I do recall that the guy was in a rush and it actually worked in my favour. The 3 stars are on the inside of my left wrist and they serve as a reminder of my strength and resilience during a time when I felt lost, vulnerable and somewhat disconnected from myself and then having taken back my power by choosing to fight through my demons; I was determined to not give up on myself and I had to start by quitting the (bad) habits that were holding me back. It still helps today when I look at the design and am reminded of that time and what I have overcome. They are beginning to fade so, I'd definitely like to have them redone.

My imperfect rose is a symbol of pain and love. Tattooed on the outside corner of my left hand, it serves up a daily dose of fierce determination in memory of my favourite uncle who was a friend and like a father to me. He passed away in 2007 (I had the tattoo done sometime after, possibly a couple of years later, I'm not sure) and I miss him more than I know how to articulate. The rose is a comfort to me and I intend to have it restored.

Five tattoos, four of which are often hidden (by default clothing choices), each of them with me permanently and, so far, since 1998, I have no regrets about that.

Do you have a tattoo story?

Charley x