Celebrity Ink - David Beckham

Guardian Angel upper centre back.

Winged crucifix on back of neck.

Jesus on lower right ribs taken from the painting The Man Of Sorrows by Matthew R Brooks.

Angel on right shoulder with text, "in the face of adversity" - a memorial to his grandfather.

Sons names, Romeo, Cruz and Brooklyn on back.

VII Roman numerals for the number 7 jersey he wore at Man. United.

"Victoria" on inner left forearm in Hindi.

Left forearm comprising 10 roses, an image of wife, Victoria as a topless angel surrounded by stars.

“Ut Amem Et Foveam” which translates to “so that I love and cherish on inner left forearm

"Pray for me" on right inner wrist

Left upper arm, Renaissance image of a Cupid carrying his wife Psyche to Heaven.

Full sleeve on right arm, religiously themed featuring cherubs, crucifix, a Templar Knight clouds, number 23 (LA Galaxy jersey number).

"Let them hate as long as they fear" on right outer forearm.

Chinese proverb on ribs, translating to "Death and life have determined appointments. Riches and honour depend upon heaven."

Hebrew quote from the Song of Solomon 6.3 "I am my love’s and my love is mine, who browses among the lilies" on left forearm.

Latin phrase on left forearm "Perfectio in Spiritu" meaning "spiritual perfection."

Hebrew phrase, "My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart." on left arm.

"I think everybody's got a way of expressing their feelings, and mine is through my tattoos."

"The idea to get tattooed came to me a little while after Brooklyn was born. I was talking to Mel B and her then-husband, Jimmy Gulzar, and the subject of tattoos came up. I ended up going to this Dutch guy who'd done all of Jimmy's. I'd finally realized what I wanted a tattoo to represent. Mine are all about the people in my life, my wife and sons, who I want with me always. When you see me, you see the tattoos. You see an expression of how I feel about Victoria and the boys. They're part of me." 

"I don't plan on having a tattoo, it's just sometimes I wake up and I think, you know, I've got an idea of an image I would like on me.

"Some people love tattoos, some people don't. It's just something that I have always found can kind of express how I'm feeling, or the thoughts that I have or memories...most of my tattoos are memories and things that mean things to me...there's not one tattoo that I've got on me that doesn't mean something."

Most of David Beckham's work done by Louis Malloy most recent chest piece by Matt Mahoney.

Celebrity Ink - Victoria Beckham

Hebrew quote from the Song of Solomon 6.3 "I am my love’s and my love is mine, who browses among the lillies" down the back of her neck - marking 6th wedding anniversary

5 stars on lower back for herself, husband David, and 3 sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

The date that they renewed their wedding vows, May 08 2006 in Roman Numerals on right inner wrist (often incorrectly speculated as the date she and David first slept together ) 

DB (husband David Beckham's initials) on left inner wrist.

"De Integro" meaning "Afresh" or "Again from the start" in Latin on right inner wrist.

Hebrew quote on inner left wrist "together forever, eternally" marking 10 year wedding anniversary.

Sources: Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Google Images

A Drop Of Isaac

Name: Isaac, Izzy. 

Age: 24

Tell me about yourself : I'm a cabinet maker by trade but am currently in the Australian Army. I love music and the beach and travelling.

How many tattoos do you have: 6

Age when you got your first tattoo: 16

Do you have a favourite tattoo: The one with the girls names crossed out.

Any more tattoos planned? : i want to get a piece on my ribs. i really want something done by Derek Hess.

Favourite style of tattooing…background?: whatever looks good to be honest.

Any other modifications?: ive had my eyebrow, labret, tragus, tongue, nipple and the top of my left ear pierced. I also used to have 8mm stretchers in both ears.

What is your tattoo story? The orca on my shoulder means the souls rebirth after death, I was 16 and a massive stoner so it seemed good at the time lol. The little picture on my back is just a piece off the wall at Sharky's in Byron, just wanted to prove i could get tattooed in a shop under age haha. 

The writing that stretches from my bicep over onto my back is latin for ' the eagle dosnt capture the flies ' so pretty much dont worry bout the small things in life :-) 

Established 1986 is just the start of me getting smart arse tattoos cos i really dont take anything serious. Same goes for the  "ex-girlfriends" crossed off on my side. It's really just a piss take for those losers who actually do get their partners names tattooed on them and for the ppl who procastinate about getting tattoos because they are worried about what they will look like when they are older...people just take things too seriously, live for now!! 

The rifle at Gallipoli I got when I first joined the army, it is a tribute to the sacrifice made by those who came before me.

Tattooing in Ancient Egypt

Long have the artwork and hieroglyphics of Ancient Egypt inspired and influenced modern tattooing but the reality of tattooing in the ancient culture is little known. Contrary to popular belief, the Ancient Egyptians were not known for tattooing images of heiroglyphics and depictions of their many gods on their bodies as they did in such infinite detail on everything from the simplest objects of their everyday life to the walls of their burial chambers and their layered sarcophagi.


Geometric tattoos on lower abdomen of Amunet

 Tattooing was practiced in Ancient Egypt but was an exclusively female practice. It was previously believed that this tattooing was the mark of prostitutes and for some time, excavator would assume that mummies found with tattoos were of little importance. This theory was shattered upon the discovery of the mummified body of Amunet a high priestess of the goddess Hathor uncovered in1891 a burial at Deir el-Bahari who, due to her tattoos (series of abstrac geometric patterns comprised of lines and dots) was originally dismissed as a high ranking concubine.


Further research into other female mummies with similar markings and the placement of the tattoos suggest that tattooing was in fact performed as a kind of ritual, creating a permanent amulet for women to aid in pregnancy and birth. Tattoos created with a dark pigment, probably soot, were generally placed around the abdomen, tops of the thighs and the breasts, the pattern tattooed over the abdomen would expand with the abdomen during pregnancy much like the bead nets used in the mummification rituals which were used to "keep everything in". Images of Bes, the household protector of women in labor were found at the tops of women's thighs, suggesting that he would protect the child in the womb and safeguard its birth.


Ancient Egypt has captured the imaginations of generations and its associated images; hieroglyphs, the Eye of Horus, ankhs, pyramids, pharaohs and the Egyptian Gods have been a recurring theme in tattoos for many years. The richness of the culture, mythology and symbolism associated with Ancient Egypt lends so much to tattooing and to art in general, providing more than enough material to tattoo an entire torso.


Anubis - the jackal headed god of the underworld, cemeteries and embalming.

Ra - the falcon headed god of the sun.

Ankh - "the key of life", hieroglyph meaning eternal life.

The Eye of Horus - symbol for Horus the falcon sky god, of protection, royal power and good health.

Scarab beetle - symbol of the power of the sun, resurrection and the after-life.

Ouroboros - Infinity and the cyclic and eternal nature of life, creation out of destruction.

Sphinx - benevolent guard of temples witha human head and the body of a lion, generally depicted with a male head, very occasionally with a female head, depicting the goddess Isis or the reigning queen.

Source: Smithsonian, Vanishing Tattoo, National Geographic, Google Images.

Celebrity Ink - Marc Jacobs

Red M & M character on right shoulder.

3 different coloured stars on left shoulder.

5 stars on right shoulder.

Spongebob Square Pants on right outer bicep.

Small red heart on left shoulder.

Simpson cartoon version of himself on left outer bicep.

Simple portrait of his 2 dogs on left shoulder.

"oui" on right upper forearm.

"lui" on left upper forearm.

"Shameless" on left upper chest.

"Bros Before Hos" on left outer wrist.

Scene from Poltergeist on upper back.

"Perfect" on right inner wrist.

Outline  of a midcentury style couch above right hip.

Clyde Frog,the stuffed toy of Southpark's Eric Cartman.

Couple of bears above right elbow.

Letter "J" on left lower hip.

Chocolate bunny on left outer ankle.

Iced donut around left elbow.

PB/BB above right elbow.

"George and Martha" a nod to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" on right upper arm.

Screaming woman wearing 3D glasses on left inner arm.

pin up style girl with text behind left arm.

"I really have a good attitude about tattooing. When I first got one, two years ago, I was like, I'm not going to overthink this or what it means, or what it's going to be like when I'm 80. I want to get tattooed today, and in five weeks, I'll get a Sponge Bob tattoo. Will I regret it someday? I don't know, but I'm not going to deny myself this pleasure today because of what I don't know in the future."

About his "shameless" chest tattoo Jacobs says. "That's what I think everyone should aspire to in life: being shameless.

On his "perfect" tattoo - I put it there to remind me, for when I'm looking at myself and wishing that I could be stronger in this way or better at that thing, and I can just go, "No. I'm exactly how I need to be." 


"Well I have a lot of tattoos. My first tattoo I had when I was a teenager was just a little heart. I am very friendly with a great artist Scott Campbell and I started going to him to get tattoos. I'm very spontaneous about what I get. There is a story behind each one of them but they were all very spontaneous thoughts. They are permanent but I don't give it that kind of importance. They are just things I felt like doing at that time - if anything they are like my diary of where I was at that particular moment and there was a reason for each one."

Most of Marc Jacob's tattoos done by Scott Campbell.

Sources: Scott Campbell, Google Images

Celebrity Ink - Evan Rachel Wood

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream" below the nape of her neck - Edgar Allen Poe quote.

Heart with Aladdin Sane lightning bolt through the center on left upper thigh.

"15" behind left ear.

Heart and infinity symbol behind right ear - 'Forever Love'

Unknown tattoo inside her lip.

Large diamond on right inner ankle - a coverup of a poorly executed Beatles themed tattoo.

"J" on left inner ankle for previous partner Jamie Bell.

"I kind of always thought I would get a tattoo but I was waiting for something really special. This was a moment in my life I wanted to mark. I turned 18 and I was living on my own for the first time and I was in New York filming a Beatles musical. I thought it was a good time."  ‘It’s supposed to be a strawberry with leaves in the shape of a bird, but everybody says, `Is that a ferret sticking out of an apple?’”

“It’s a lightning bolt for David Bowie. And it has a black valentine heart around it...Marilyn has a black heart on his wrist and I have a black heart. We got them on Valentine’s Day.”

Source: Esquire, GQ, Google Images

A Drop Of Jay

Name: Jay Jebac Yugoslav

Age: 27

Tell me about yourself: I was born in Sarajevo and moved to Australia aged 10. Now I work two jobs, slave my ass off and then pack up and disappear whenever and wherever I feel like. Travel is a huge part of my life as are the relationships that I have with the people I've met along the way.

How many tattoos do you have: Two

Age when you got your first tattoo: 23

Do you have a favourite tattoo: Nope

Any more tattoos planned: Yes two more (left and right sholder blades) One will be my answer to immortality written in illyrian and angelic script and the other will be a Yugoslav tribute...very hard to explain but it will basically have something representing each one of the ex Yugoslav states...

Favourite style of tattooing...background?: Anything original

What is your tattoo story?: My tattoos, all 4 (two current and two planned) all revolve around my heritage in one way or another. Pride is a huge thing back home as it is in many European countries...passion comes second nature to this pride. No doubt that by now you've noticed that I keep using the phrase "Yugo" rather than Bosnian or Croatian or Serbian as many people nowadays do. There is a mixed reason for this; firstly i come from a mixed (french/bosnian/serb) background, second, i was born in the Yugoslav Republic and third, i don't believe in the war that split up Yugoslavia and I do believe that outside influences played a role in it. The way I see it, after Russia finally fell, Yugoslavia had to as well (at the time the Yugoslav army was third strongest in Europe after Russia and England) but im not gonna get into world politics now lol...my final tatt will reflect the split Yugoslav states...

The tattoo on my right arm was my first and has a symbol of a 'Ljiljan' (a flower found in what is now Bosnia)...the shading was freehand and has patterns found inside caves from Illyrian era (mid 4th century BC) the word 'Sarajlija' underneath is the name given to a person born in Sarajevo i.e. a person born in QLD is reffered to as a Queenslander...


The second tatt 'Svaka Ruza Ima Svoj Trn' on my left arm is written in Yugoslav and roughly translates to "Every Rose Has Its Thorns' with this one as well, the shading and background were done freehand...basically it's a reminder to keep my focus and always keep both my feet planted firmly on the ground...


Both tattoos were done at Aces Wild on the Gold Coast.

The Tattooed People

In the mid-1800's and well into the 1900's the popularity of tattooing went hand in hand with the public affinity for circuses and the "freak shows" that went with them. It began in the early 1800's with Jean Baptiste Cabri, a French deserter, discovered by Russian explorer George H. von Langsdorff in the Marquesas Islands where he had been tattooed and eventually taken a native wife. After less than a decade exhibiting his tattoos throughout Europe, Cabri quickly slipped from the public eye and died poor and in relative anonymity.

If Cabri opened the door for tattooed show people, John Rutherford wedged that door open, rolled out the carpet and waved the welcome banner. The fanciful stories that he told of the origins of his tattoos, of a shipwreck in New Zealand and subsequent capture by Maori natives, forcible tattooing, assimilation to native society and escape to return to civilisation were retold, borrowed and mimicked by tattooed people for many years to come. 

Horace Ridler had London tattooist George Burchett tattoo his entire body, he had his teeth filed to points, his ears stretched and an ivory tusk inserted though another hole in his nose. Under the moniker The Great Omi he became one of the most famous and remembered "freaks" of the circus era, the end of his career coming at the perfect time, when tattooing became more prevalent in main stream society and more and more circuses did away with the sideshows which no longer provided the shock value of previous years.

In a time of censorship and modesty, the idea of paying to see a woman's skin on display meant that the popularity of the tattooed lady proved to be much more lucrative and productive than that of the tattooed men.


Nora Hildebrandt debuted at Bunnell's Museum in 1882, it was her father Martin Hildebrandt, hailed as America's first professional tattoo artist, who covered the canvas of his daughter's skin in tattoos. Borrowing the concept from her male predecessors, Nora told a fantastical tale of the origin of her tattoos, saying that she and her father were captured by American Indians where Sitting Bull forced her father to tattoo her daily for an entire year while she was tied to a tree. In the later years of her career, Nora did away with the farce and instead enthralled her audience with the details of her fathers work while displaying it for all to see.

Only weeks after Nora Hildebrandt's debut, Irene Woodward, La Belle Irene presented her elaborately tattooed self to New York and her fame almost immediately eclipsed that of Hildebrandt. Her artwork is credited to Samuel O'Reilly and Charlie Wagner, using a variation of Nora Hildebrandt's story, Irene's fame grew so much that upon marrying her, husband George took her surname. Despite much debate on the matter, it is Irene Woodward who is remembered as "The Original Tattooed Lady".

Betty Broadbent was the first person to be inducted in to the Tattoo Hall of Fame in 1981. Her pin-up body was inked with over 350 intricate designs by the greatest artists of the day; Charlie Wagner, Joe Van Hart, Tony Rhineager and Red Gibbons. While many people were unable to handle the demands and rigours of life in the circus, Broadbent embraced it spending 40 years in and around the circus and sideshows. She toured through Australia, New Zealand and America, appearing as an attraction at the New York World's Fair in 1939.

Circus performers; contortionist Maud Wagner and wood carver Gus Wagner were one of the most famous tattooed/tattooist couples. They met at the St Louis Worlds Fair, it was Gus who tattooed Maud and taught her the art. They spent much of their lives in the circuses, their daughter Lovetta Wagner was never tattooed but followed in their footsteps becoming a celebrated tattoo artist even tattooing Don Ed Hardy in 1993.

At the hight of their popularity, rival circuses would compete to secure the services of the person with the most intricate and elaborate tattoos and stories. Tattoo artists of the day would often spend the warmer months touring with the circuses earning much more than they did upon returning to their homes and shops for winter. For over 70 years, every major circus having at least one tattooed person as a part of their exhibition.

The sad truth for many of these people was that fame is a fickle a fleeting mistress and many of them passed out of the public eye and were forgotten, their fates unknown and the dates of their deaths unknown. Their deaths proved to be as unremarkable as their lives had been a cruel and ironic reflection of the fickle nature of fame.


To suggest that these tattooed people were anything but pioneers of the art would be a lie. It is thanks to them and their exposure of tattooing over 70 years that society began to appreciate tattoos as an art rather than a part of the freak shows to which they had been first introduced.

Source: Vanishing Tattoo, The Human Marvels, Lydia & Friends, Vintage Venus, Google Images