We might never imagine that the word ‘art’ can be associated with ‘scars.’ Yes, it is true. Scars cannot be considered as an art if it happens accidentally, or if you don’t want it happens to you, but, for our surprise, there are some people who choose scarification to express their artistic side.
The rite of scarification has been used to denote the emotional state of the wearer of the scars, such as times of sorrow or well-being. This is common among Australian Aboriginal and Sepik River tribes in New Guinea, amongst others.
It has very symbolic meaning to them and often their peers or partners. Up until quite recently, because scarification has a three dimensional aspect, many people enjoy the feeling of healed scars. They just like the way it looks!
There are some methods used in scarification.
Branding
Scarification done through burns, either from heat, or from lasers or electrocautery devices
Cuttings
Fine scarification using a thin blade, sometimes colored using tattoo ink, sometimes including the removal of patches of skin),
Ink-rubbing
Tattoo ink is rubbed into the fresh cuts and remains after the cut has healed
Skinning
This process involves cutting an outline of the area to be removed into the skin, then peeling away the freshly lacerated flesh.
Packing
In packing, incisions are made in the skin and materials such as ash or clay are inserted beneath the skin to create intentional “bumps”.
Abrasion
Resulting scars from this process can be achieved by abrading the skin with needles, sand paper, or a tattooing machine without ink. This is a relatively unsafe method, and employing it is often not recommended.
Unfortunately, the greatest risk of scarification is the art itself. The result of scarification is actually not a ‘real’ art. After a method is applied to a person, it’s not the artist that creates the scar, it’s the body.
Everyone scars differently, so a technique that works great on one person may look horrible on another. For example scarification works better on darker skin tones, which is masked on heavily pigmented skin.
