Helana has since donated part of her liver, in the hopes of preventing other families from suffering a similar loss. The cherry blossoms on Helana’s arm stand for her sister, who died from complications of diabetes at 26. She said, “No.” But after Daniela committed suicide, her friends told Phyllis that the bullying hadn’t stopped. In high school, her mother continued asking if anyone was bullying her. In Grade 8, she was bullied but declined her mother’s offer to change schools - she wanted to graduate with her friends. The “sleeve” tattoos covering both her legs represent that journey, she told Davidson.ĭaniela was Phyllis’s daughter. When her son, Pete, died of an accidental drug overdose at 25, she began a “journey” of grief. Mandi said she chose her wrist because it was the last part of Dan that she saw before the casket closed. The cherry blossoms stand for “a warrior lost in battle.” The warrior was her brother, Dan, a talented pianist. People who have lost loved ones want the memory of their loved ones to remain alive.”
In memory tattoos small archive#
The project is about memory, Davidson says: “An archive and the body are both repositories for memory.”įar from being shy about displaying their bodies for Davidson’s camera, the participants in her study were grateful for a chance to display their memorials, she says: “They couldn’t be thankful enough …. “The grand narrative seems to be that this is a way to keep their loved ones embodied, in the permanence of their own bodies.” Deborah Davidson, a professor of sociology at York University, has compiled an online gallery of pictures and stories that offers a glimpse of the phenomenon.ĭavidson says all kinds of people get memorial tattoos: old and young, people with lots of tattoos and people without any. These are the stories of people with “memorial tattoos” - reminders of lost loved ones etched beneath the skin. Flock of Birds Memorial Tattoos: A flock of birds symbolises the freedom and freedom that we get after death. Some chose wrists or forearms, so everyone could see it. This is suitable if you are OK with small memorial tattoos.
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One woman’s tattoo was on her ankle - it helped her stand.Īnother had ink running down her shoulder - it was a reminder of who had her back.