Photoshoot: Kyra's Tattoos

This post has been a long time coming. Way back in February (February!) of 2014, I was starting to put together an idea for my piece for the International Women’s Day Art Show with the theme of Identity. Around the same time, my good friend Kyra had just started the process of having a sleeve tattoo applied to her arm. This accompanied many other tattoos that she has received over the years. She was eager to have her new ink documented and I was looking at the concept of tattoos as a form of identity. Two and two came together quite quickly, and we set up a photoshoot wherein I could use footage for my art and she would get to have her tattoos shine in the spotlight.

The day of shooting itself had obstacles of its own in finding a location, travel, stiff limbs from a recent car accident, time constraints – let alone being mostly naked in the dead of Canadian winter (it doesn’t matter that you’re inside…it’s still unpleasantly cold).

All of that aside, we had a blast doing the shoot and both enjoyed the experimentation of it. Had she not told me this was her first time modelling for something – I wouldn’t have believed her. She was game for pretty much anything and tackled it all with patience and enthusiasm. As a photographer, it’s great having a responsive model who is just as excited about the vision as you are.

My original idea for my Women’s Show art piece evolved and simplified the more I looked at the images. The development of the Identity invite card that I have blogged about previously shows the different possible visions I had at different times. In the end we went with ‘less is more’. The image I selected for the exhibit, shows Kyra as strong and powerful, balanced with flecks of softer femininity. I couldn’t have been happier with the response and conversation that this piece produced, along with the model that helped make it happen.

“I have never felt more complete, more myself, as I do with ink on my skin.”- Kyra

My tattoos are a reminder of who I was, a statement of who I am, and a canvas for who I will be. There are flaws and insecurities; there are choices and consequences. There is strength in accepting everything about myself.

This is my story. This is who I am, This is my identity.

Tattoo artists:

Sun/Moon: Kyle Patenaude & Jaimie Rouso Phoenix: Jeff Wylie Sleeve: Ben Ackerman Pisces: Celtic Moon

Note: I highly recommend the book Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo by Margot Mifflin. It is a visually beautiful anthology, discussing the view of body art as a taboo subculture and the reclaiming of identity for women through tattoos.