Facial Tattoo

by Alessandro Pantorno

Words the rising of a new trend: facial tattoo, passing through convicts symbols, trapper and Maori.

Facial tattoo nowadays is becoming more popular among youngsters, used both as a sign of rebellion and an anti-conformist act towards society or just for a matter of style. Thanks to the colonizer James Cook tattoos became popular in the west, as during an expedition in Polynesia he found out about the tattooing ritual and brought it in Europe in 1800. In the Maori tradition, perhaps the most important tattoo of all is the moko, a tattoo that is done on the face and which through its different signs tells the story of those who wear it engraved on the skin. The moko also has its female counterpart, a mark on the chin that was considered so important as to prevent the woman who did not wear it, from entering fully into the social life of the tribe. Among convicts, we can find some interesting symbol, like the tear under the eye. It can indicate a plethora of notions, like the loss of someone special, when imprison has ended or it is a sign of the crime of murder, even having witnessed

the murder of a loved one. If the tear is empty it means that you have been a witness, if the tear is full it means that you have committed murder yourself. Moreover, we have also the three-point tattoo, often performed on the hand or under the eye and represents the crazy and unregulated life of the prisoner. This tattoo is famous among Hispanic prisoners and can also have a religious meaning, such as alluding to the Holy Trinity. Among trapper, we can find disparate symbols; the most common tattoo is an inscription on the forehead above the eyebrows, where sometimes they express their alias, like the case of TEKASHI 6IX9INE. He is very obsessed with this number as you can also see in the neck, or in the Jigsaw forehead tattoo, under his eye. Another interesting trapper is Young Signorino, he only has tattoos on his face and they all seem to be related to his music. For example, the inscription “Mmhh” above the eyebrows recalls the title of one of his songs. The thing that I prefer is it’s provocative and amoral attitude both in his music and his tattoos, and the annihilation of the symbols. For example, he has a tear under the eye, but he has not killed anyone. This tattoo has a personal meaning or even is meaningless.