Pavithra Prabhakar
Tattoos are intimate memories which are engraved permanently on skin. My work is a tribute to those brave enough to break societal norms by celebrating these memories and attempts to make the world look beyond what's on the skin to determine the character of a person. The main material I used to create my work is graphite. The black and white lends itself to the fact that these tattoos are memories from the past. For example, in the image with the butterfly tattoo, the model is a teacher who helps students with autism. To her, the choice to work with autistic students was an important and a personal one as these students remind her of her own children. Unfortunately, from society’s perspective, her laudable passion is nothing more than ink on skin.