“Man only exists by paying the price of demarcation, by which he determines and defines himself.”
Jean Starobinski
This project photographically maps the life of Brian Reed, whose interests and life events are already illustrated pictorially all over his body. Fittingly, the first tattoo represents his own birth; it is a Japanese emblem of peace, as he was born at eleven o’clock on the 11th November. Years previous to marrying, Brian changed his surname by deed poll, therefore he, his wife Katy and their son Logan, are the only three members of The Reed family. And, bizarrely, their introductions to it all share a numeric pattern. Emphasised furthermore by their permanence on Brian’s body; the “666” behind the ear, represents his wedding day, 6th June 2006, and “Logan 987”, his son’s birth date, three months earlier than expected, on 9th August 2007.
Interweaved amongst these symbolic dates are a passion for vampires, werewolves and dark underworlds – details of a fantastical life amidst symbols of reality.
My images document these tattoos, their relationships with one another, and the people that they represent. They also illustrate how an addictive desire for tattoos whether purposefully or not creates a dermal catalogue of this life thus far.