Leaving my first mark… an ode to my mother

In 2019 I was determined to design my first tattoo. I wanted it to be intimate and significant for who I am.

I was thinking of what sense of who I am I could translate to visual imagery. Since I was engaging more and more with Hinduism at the time, I stumbled upon the idea of implementing Ganesha. I felt more and more like I could relate to the god who also happened to be my ‘significant deity‘ from the day I was born.

Devoted to his love and responsibility towards his mother - Maa Parvati - Ganesha faced the violent consequences from his father - Shiva - who was displeased by Ganesha’s obedience towards his mother rather than him. Shiva’s decapitation of Ganesha urged the enraged Maa Parvati to decide to destroy the entire Creation. In an attempt at reconciliation, Shiva had to bring her a new head in order for her to bring new life to Ganesha.

I am thankful and grateful for my mother who was able to give me a ‘new life‘ after we went through a flood of disasters. The past has become part of who I am and I’m not fighting it. It is signified in this work by the body in black and white, which is drawn in somewhat of a ‘dotwork‘ tattoo style. This body is separated from the head, but not disconnected. The vibrant and ‘neon-like‘ head signifies the colourful life my mother has offered me. The body and the head have not been severed from each other, they have just shifted.

Here I used watercolour crayons, acrylics, (coloured) pencils and fineliners.