In Brazil, the tattoo transforms the scars of life

Facing the mirror, Marlene Silva dos Santos admires the flowers tattooed on her chest, hiding the scar from the operation she suffered after suffering from breast cancer five years ago.

“Even if the others didn’t see it, it hurt me to see this scar”confides this 51-year-old Brazilian. “Now what I see are these flowers. I never imagined it could be so beautiful”she said, her skin still raw from the stroke of the tattoo artist’s needle.

For several hours, she endured the pain without flinching, lying on her back in a studio in Sao Paulo (southeast). The colorful decoration contrasts with the neon lights and the austere whiteness of the hospital where she followed her chemotherapy sessions.

The result: roses running down the chest, two large dark blue diamonds drawn under the left breast.

Another small, very realistic tattoo simulates the nipple lost during mastectomy (breast removal), before breast reconstruction. The scar is now practically invisible.

At the origin of this project? The artist Karrla Mendeswho has to his credit nearly 160 tattoos to hide the scars of women who have suffered from illnesses, accidents or domestic violence.

It offers them its services for free, through the social project “We are Diamonds” (“We are diamonds”), which was initiated in 2017, and subsequently launched partnerships with several NGOs.

Making sense of the scars

“I want them to understand that we women are diamonds in the rough, which we can polish throughout our lives”explains the tattoo artist.

“It’s gratifying to help them through my art and to give new meaning to scars that symbolized bad memories”she adds.

Kelly Pereira, 36, also sports tattoos of flowers and diamonds on her arm, from shoulder to elbow. The drawings hide a scar and burns caused by a domestic accident, which also marked her on her neck, chest and one hand

The accident took place when she was a child, when a saucepan caught fire due to a background of alcohol left by her sister who was cooking while her mother was working outside.

“This scar tells my story. I’m not ashamed of it”she says. “I want to show that we can transform our lives with this gesture that marks not only our skin, but also our soul”.

Turn pain into pride

In Belo Horizonte, in the neighboring state of Minas Gerais (southeast), Augusto Molinari is also offering free tattoos for those looking for an aesthetic solution to boost their self-esteem after injuries that mark the flesh. For example, he tattooed the body of a woman victim of domestic violence, helping to hide the marks of severe burns.

“It’s beautiful to see the eyes that shine when the person looks in the mirror and sees that their body has changed, that pain has been transformed into pride”explains the tattoo artist.

Betania Sartori, doctor specializing in cosmetic surgery, explains that tattoos on reconstructed skin “are safe, under certain conditions”.

“You can’t tattoo on scars that are too recent”she says, adding that it often takes one to two years for the skin to be mature enough to receive the ink and the needle.

Dulcineia Soares, at the age of 6, lost a joint of her middle finger in her left hand in a sugar cane crusher. Sixty years later, Augusto Molinari has tattooed a design that simulates a fingernail on his mutilated finger.

“Why didn’t I think of that before?”wonders this musician, who takes a completely different look at her fingers while strumming on the keys of her keyboard. “It’s a feeling of freedom, I don’t have to hide my finger all the time”she adds, proudly showing her hands wide open.

Marlene Silva dos Santos, she, a client of Karrla Mendes, wants to look at herself again in the mirror before putting her blouse back on: “It’s the end of a cycle”she concludes, satisfied.