Inked

When I still had my Nude Singer Facebook page, I put out a poll question asking if people would prefer to see tattoos on me. As expected, I got mixed replies. With regards to the merit of this permanent form of (oft-ritualised) self-beautification that dates back to ancient times, the jury is still out. Some people think that I shouldn't taint flawless smooth skin with tattoos but some feel that it satiates almost a fetishistic part of their sexual fantasies.

Personally when it comes to permanent decisions that have little or no regret-room, I always proceed with utmost caution. This applies to major financial decisions, career moves and yes, whether or not to don an indelible coat of ink on my skin. And when I know I wouldn't be able to decide without taking an infinite amount of time, I resort to half-measures and temporary ones. They are not the real deal but I know I wouldn't be forced to co-exist with something I do not want.

With this in mind, I engaged a photographer who has an assistant who does body-painting. So in the studio we went after selecting the two designs I'd like to be photographed in. The first one was simple and all that was needed was to roll a bicycle tyre dipped in black paint all over me. Done and done. However the next one was far from easy. I had to withstand a four-hour long session of painstaking artwork with my skin as the canvas. But it was well worth the wait and all the effort because I think the result speaks for itself.

The first picture is my favourite but that is just me. The jury is still out on tattooing but why don't you be the judge on body-painting and tell me what you think?