Body narratives : seeing love

• Main Author: Lim, Cassandra Xin Yi
• Other Authors: Lisa Winstanley
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Visual arts and music::Visual arts; Social sciences::Communication
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/140658
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Body Narratives: Seeing Love is a semiotic study of meaning-making iconography in tattoos. The complexity of the tattoo is that it can be read in many ways and it is a form of embodied visual communication. Throughout history, tattoos have commonly been a symbol of deviance, often associated with bike gangs, the mafia, sailors, prostitution and criminality. However, in our world of liquid modernity – a time of uncertainty with an emphasis on individuality and capitalism– tattoos have stood the test of time and are now used to represent a myriad of deeply human expressions. In a world where change is the only permanence, tattoos are a powerful method humans have invented to preserve what is most precious in life. Memories fade quicker than the ink of tattoos. Using traditional tattoo forms, I will be creating illustrations based on personal interpretations of the word Love – a recurrent theme that motivates one in getting a tattoo. By visualising personal narratives, audiences would have a better understanding of tattoos as an authentic device used in understanding the complex themes of our contemporary society. It is a multifaceted form that transcends what we traditionally term as language. Contemporary tattoo narrative also provides us with a new reading of an ancient body modification practice. This will be done in the form of a book, much like how the body is a medium for tattoos, the book is a medium for information, both intimate and unchangeable.