Figure 1. Close up shot of faded tattoos on the hand. Three stars.
1 media/IMG_1724 2_thumb.jpg 2026-02-08T18:57:50+00:00 Emma Sutcliffe b7e73006f2eb1d2a4bf2597f93bf80b57664015d 37 1 Photograph by Emma Sutcliffe, Toronto, 2026. A close up photograph of the hand with a tattoo of three small stars. The tattoo is very faded. plain 2026-02-08T18:57:50+00:00 43.685227777778,-79.406477777778 Emma Sutcliffe b7e73006f2eb1d2a4bf2597f93bf80b57664015dThis page is referenced by:
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How to Look at a Tattoo
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The next time you find yourself people-watching from the side of the street, take notice of how many characters have visible tattoos. When you spot a tattoo etched into someone’s skin, take notice of the smaller details; there is a lot more to be said about a tattoo than the design itself. How faded is the blackness of the ink? Is the linework blotchy or blown out? Brand new?
Tattoo ink is made up of two components: a carrier and a pigment. The carrier is the liquid, usually water and alcohol, which suspends the pigment, most typically made up of carbon and other materials. This alcoholic concoction is deposited into the skin layer beneath the one that we can touch: the dermis. Beneath the tangible layer, the tattoo needle embeds pigment into the skin and leaves behind small entrance wounds. As the body tries to heal itself, it sends cells to repair the wounds and special cells to eat away at what was left behind. Macrophages, the specialized cells, eat the pigment and lay themselves to rest in the dermis, resulting in the endless designs that shine through the skin (Aguirre).
Tattoos fade over time because the wounds of the epidermis slowly heal themselves and regenerate new cells. The uppermost layer creates a barrier of untouched skin between our eyes and the dermis, thickening the space between the dark pigment and our eyesight. This once deep black fades to a cool, inky blue as the design embeds itself forever into the body.
A tattoo bridges a gap we’d never think to take notice of. They allow us to look just beneath ourselves, an act only somewhat comparable to looking at the web of veins under our skin. Though, a vein is easily recognizable by its depth – we make no mistake in thinking we can actually touch our veins. What differentiates a tattoo is that there is nearly no telling how far away a fingertip is from the ink. Our eyes perceive the touch as equivalent to non-inked skin. But, looking closely, its blue colour signifies something has grown overtop of it. The crackling of the skin lays itself atop the ink, as though looking at a figure behind a nearly transparent sheet (see Fig. 1).
Maybe you have a tattoo. If so, bring the skin close to your eye. Pinch it, stretch it, move the skin around between your fingers and try to distinguish the thin sheet. You may even see a slight haze of blue around the tattoo, some scarring, or some drifted ink where the pigment was punched too deeply. If you don’t have your own, count the characters who do. Look at the design and think about what they’ve permanently etched into their body. But look closely, look further than you think you’d need to. Tattoos serve as a reminder that sometimes we may have to look deeper, even if we think we already see it.
Works Cited
Aguirre, Claudia. “Tattoos and Skin Health”. The International Dermal Institute, 1 May 2019, https://dermalinstitute.com/article/tattoos-and-skin-health/. - 1 2026-02-08T21:28:17+00:00 Figure 1. 1 image_header 2026-02-08T21:28:17+00:00
