“Body modification and permanence are one-in-the-same, insofar as I’m concerned. ‘But how,’ you may ask, ‘can something like a piercing, which can easily be removed, be considered permanent? Tattooing is the only kind of modification that is permanent.’ But that isn’t true. Even a tattoo isn’t necessarily physically permanent – after several sessions of laser removal treatment, the physical evidence of a tattoo can be almost completely eradicated. ‘So…’ you venture, ‘no modification is permanent?’
While some people certainly believe that no modification is permanent, I beg to differ. After being modified, be it tattooing, piercing, or another form of modification, a person will forever retain memory of the experience of the modification and what it meant to them.
The memory of the experience manifests itself very differently from person to person. For some, the experience is purely aesthetical. For others, it may bring to mind pleasant times shared with a lost loved one (in the case of a memorial tattoo, for instance). Others recall modifications as spiritual experiences. There are countless ways in which modifications non-physically affect the Modified, but regardless of the reason, it is clear that modifications do much more than meets the eye.
As an artist, one of my first considerations when planning a modification is how it will look. I am obsessed with visuals and balance. However, my experience of the modification itself is almost always an intensely spiritual one. Most of the modifications I have (most recently my religious-themed backpiece) have signified a major change or turning point in my life. My modifications become physical manifestations of life events that I simply could not bear to forget.
Spirituality and religion have always been difficult topics for me to vocalize, so it is impossible for me to recount the intensely personal and life-altering experience itself. However, I can tell you that the act of having an important memory tattooed or pierced into my semi-permanent body, very permanently alters my non-corporeal self. The part of me that I believe will live on after my impermanent body decays.
So no matter how a tattoo fades with age or how many piercings I decide to remove, it won’t matter to me. The part of the modification that was most important to me has already fulfilled its job, leaving an indelible mark that can’t be erased with time.
I can also assure you, with certainty, that not every person with modifications thinks this way. We, the Modified, are just as varied in worldviews, hobbies, and religion, as any two randomly selected people in this world. But this is, indeed, how I view modifications.
So it is with reverence to Modification itself that I say:
We live in a world where everything is disposable.
This is permanent."
I like this Jessica. I like this especially- "a person will forever retain memory of the experience of the modification and what it meant to them." That is true
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