'A world we must defend’ - Griffith Review

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The hand of a tattoo artist holds a tube of red ink.

My body is the gallery – enjoy the exhibition!

CELEBRITY CULTURE HAS slowly eroded the negative connotations associated with tattoos. In the ’80s, punk and heavy-metal rockers used body art to cement their anti-consumer images into mainstream minds. Since the turn of the century, reality TV shows including Miami Ink and Ink Master have accelerated the normalisation of tattoos. Now, partly thanks to social media, tattoos have become another kind of commodity to show off to the world. Outside of the job stoppers (hands, neck, face), tattoos can be seen on lawyers, corporate drones and even White House staff.

But tattoos have always been more than fashion statements. They connect people to subcultures. They express commitment to particular ideals and fandoms. They’re the ultimate form of self-expression. Even a tattoo you get impulsively can make a statement. Tattoos become stories shared at social gatherings. Icebreakers to get the conversation going when you meet someone new. Gruelling, painful rituals that highlight how strong the human spirit can be. Dedications to a belief or a thought or a love that you wish to always be reminded of. Signifiers of who you are.

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Hump day

Fiction‘Well, I’m sure all your questions will be answered very soon. Genius Inc. is holding a press conference at 3 pm,’ Sam says. ‘The Prime Minister will be there too, since the government is partly funding them now, after their cancer discovery. It’s serious, Prue. Try to have an open mind, alright? Keep your phone close. I’ll call you straight after.’ ‘Sure,’ she yells after him, ‘if we survive it.’

All the boys she ever loved

FictionWhen he left that night with Lacey on his arm, off to go bowling or something, he shook my hand and said Goodnight, David, like it was some big joke or something, and I said Goodnight, David back, and then he was gone and immediately after the door shut, Mel was on my back and saying: You can’t keep doing this, and when I just raised my bad hand up and looked at her, she said: Going so hard on them like that. It’s not doing our daughter any favours. I don’t know why you’re talking about this like it’s some sort of pattern. I’ve only ever got to meet two of them. And she said: Exactly.

Lying on grass

FictionJamie wishes he could be more like Todd. Not because Todd’s excellent, but because he figures out what he wants and does it. As they pull out bits and pieces from the skip to build their drum sets, Jamie thinks about how he wants to be free, but doesn’t know if that’s something a person can ‘do’. After a while they’ve constructed two sets side by side at the front of the driveway. They’re not buckets, tins or lids: they’re tom drums, snare drums and cymbals.