Nick's Tattoo Explores the Duality of Self

The past week has been a fresh reminder of how wonderful inkspotting is in New York City. When we have warm weather, that is.

Today's contribution comes from Nick, who I spotted earlier this week inside the front entrance of a large chain coffee establishment.

Nick has "eleven or twelve" tattoos, so we went with this one, on the inside of his forearm:


This conceptual piece reflects, in Nick's words, "[Carl] Jung's theory of the duality of self".

This is depicted as the mythological figure Narcissus (at top) staring at his mirror image. However, in a spin on the myth, Narcissus is transfixed not by his beauty, but by the conceptualized vision of the inner self, which appears demonic.

This can be interpreted and discussed in many ways, which is one aspect of what makes this tattoo so interesting.

Nick had this piece done at Craig's Tattoo Studio in St. Louis, Missouri.

Thanks again to Nick for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Two Small Tattoos from Samantha

I met Samantha in Penn Station when I was passing through the New Jersey Transit waiting area earlier this week.

This simple rose is just above her left ankle:


Samantha got matching tattoos with her mother when she was sixteen. I joked with her that I shouldn't post that, since I've told my daughters that they have to wait until they're eighteen before getting inked.

She pointed out that this happened in Canada, so perhaps we could use that as an excuse.

Samantha, however, was more proud of her other tattoo, which I admit, is nicer. She peeled off the sock on her right foot to reveal this:


As a Canadian, she wanted to get this maple leaf to honor her homeland to the north. The tattoo was done at Blue Devil Tattoo and Piercing Studio in Tampa, Florida.

Thanks to Samantha for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!