GamblersGrin Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...iraq_tattoos_dc Dragons, Skulls Thrill Iraq's Teen-Age Tattoo Fans Fri Aug 27, 8:04 AM ET By Matthew Green BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Need a skull, a dragon or a naked woman? Descend a flight of steps to a dingy corridor and step into Baghdad's only tattoo parlor. In a city better known for bombs than body art, a self-taught Iraqi tattoo artist is pioneering a new style of designs forbidden under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites). Working with a home-made needle and architect's ink, Sarmad Shamael says his Celtic crosses, screaming eagles and death's heads are catching on among a small circle of youths. "Now people have more freedom; people have a choice about what they do. There's no laws to restrict them," he said, speaking in his shop where pin-ups of bikini-clad models adorn the pastel pink walls. "A lot of people ask me, 'Why are you so strange? Why are you so Westernized?' I tell them: Because I like it," said Shamael, a soft-spoken 29-year-old who began painting as a child. For Iraqi teen-agers, the almost guilty pleasure of tattoos provide a moment's respite from life in Baghdad where car bombs can explode at any moment, militiamen run riot in the slums and the chances of finding a job are slim. Advertised by word of mouth, Shamael's parlor has had about 100 clients since it opened after Saddam's fall in April last year, with dragons proving the most popular of the designs he copies from a well-thumbed book imported from abroad. Himself a walking ad for his art, Shamael has drawn a lion and a dragon on his forearm, while a friend helped print the motto "I want kiss you" in English on his upper arm. He says there's no need to worry about health risks -- he always dips his needle in antiseptic. Costing anything from about $15 upwards, the quality of his tattoos has some way to go to match the intricate designs shown in pictures from foreign magazines pasted on his walls, but Shamael is building on a rich tradition. Iraq (news - web sites)'s tribes have long pricked their skin with designs to cure disease, work as love charms or ward off the evil eye, although city teen-agers who dare break what is still a taboo for many people are risking their parents' wrath. "BURN THEM OFF" Mohammed Jasim, 19, said he had no regrets about the scorpion and native Indian chief emblazoned on his upper arms a couple of months ago -- despite his father's reaction when he realized they would not wash off with soap and water. "He told me to burn them off and brought me some acid," he said, speaking in the shop where Shamael inscribed them. "I got into a fight with him, then my mother and brother got involved and said the damage had been done, and that if he poured acid it would just disfigure me." It's not just the risk of parental outrage that may make some Iraqis think twice about depicting a serpent on their calf or scribbling their lover's name on their forearm. Many Iraqis associate tattoos with prison, where convicts would give each other crude designs like heart shapes to while away the years. Others simply regard them as vulgar. Iraq's tiny community of heavy metal fans are big customers at Shamael's shop and some policemen are also keen. Three officers came in the other day to have the same winged skull design tattooed on their arms. In tribal areas, women are the guardians of arcane tattoo lore, sometimes using the breast milk of a mother nursing a baby girl to mix the pigment for medicinal patterns. Women, though, are a rarity in the parlor -- not because they don't want tattoos, Shamael says, but because they are too scared to venture out amid Baghdad's surge in crime. Speaking in his guitar studio a few doors down the corridor, Shamael's cousin Saad Sada, 35, believes his relative's work could one day win much wider acceptance. "I think tattoos are going to become more popular," he said. "Now it's turning into an art form." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S@T@N Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 I'm not sure if I should be happy the art is spreading, or if I should be pissed that this is going to fuel some hate. I guess I'll take each part separately and end up interested more than pissed or happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kr430n5_666 Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 too much to drink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
»§ÜGÅR« Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 He says there's no need to worry about health risks -- he always dips his needle in antiseptic that's the part that would freak me out.. I know it's not a wealthy place, but, the same needle for EVERYONE? :yuck: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLIK$ Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 no no, its ok. The will of Allah protects them from disease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fermentor666 Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Where is this guy getting a vial of acid from? How many people have acid just laying around the house, waiting to burn people's flesh with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T=E=A=S=E Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Originally posted by Glik0 no no, its ok. The will of Allah protects them from disease. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EyeforAnEYE Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 The dead will rise, for sure now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crave Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 they're just trying to find a way to grind against the norm. it's accepted that kids do it here (us.) i think it's kind of cool personally. however needle sharing is asking for trouble. fuck that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phism Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 doesn't sound much different than here, as far as parents reactions... uhh... so, what happens when the new government, whichever it may be, comes in and bans tattoos and kills this guy for doing them, or something. or not, you know, whatever. i'd get a tattoo that said "america hates me"... i'd damn near get one of those now, actually.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEROJUANA Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Originally posted by Glik0 no no, its ok. The will of Allah protects them from disease. WORD NIGGA ILL MEET YOU AT THE MOSQUE AFTER I FINISH THIS BACON EGG AND CHEESE AND THIS BLT WITH A SIDE OF BACON. M E R O E MLBRTEE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekro Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 Originally posted by fermentor666 Where is this guy getting a vial of acid from? How many people have acid just laying around the house, waiting to burn people's flesh with it? My thoughts excactly. What is it with arabs and the acid-throwing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloner Posted August 28, 2004 Share Posted August 28, 2004 its just how they get down. we throw baseballs, they throw acid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 Various kinds of acid available cheaply Battery acid for car batteries, muriatic acid for cleaning shit, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid--you can buy acid at pharmacies, apothocary's shops, car repair places, lots of places like that. It's cheap. Everybody's afraid of getting acid thrown on them (oftentimes in poor neighborhoods, there is no running water in the houses, so it's not like here, where you just run to the nearest house and turn on a garden hose) so people threaten each other with it. And it's usually not fatal. And it's quiet, unlike a gunshot. In southwest Asia, it seems like people are always throwing acid on wives who won't behave, daughters-in-law, daughters who shame or dishonor the family, etc. Some lunatic shit, is all I can say. I wonder if this tattoo guy has a guard with a Kalashnikov guarding the stairwall down to his shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarzAbove Posted August 29, 2004 Share Posted August 29, 2004 I'm sure the most popular tattoo's will be the ones defaming the US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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