Tattoos are usually forever. Most people get them when they are young, and some regret them as they get older. Some people get tattoos where they can easily be covered up if they do decide that they aren’t happy with them later in life.
Some go all out and get them on their necks, faces, and even heads.
Tattoos are a way to express yourself, and while some people may judge others based on them, most people are open to them. If there is one group of people that are likely to have extreme tattoos, it’s gang members.
Many people who have escaped the gang lifestyle have found it hard to move on because of their tattoos. People stare at them and assume they are still gang members. Even their family members are bothered by them and have to deal with them.
A photography project by UK photographer Steven Burton called Skin Deep is hoping to help these people.
He wants to photograph them with their tattoos and then edit them out, so they can see what they look like without them. He hopes that by sharing these photographs and stories, more people will be open and willing to consider the feelings of these former gang members.
He has added the photographs to a book called “Skin Deep: Looking Beyond the Tattoos.” The synopsis of the book says:
“Skin Deep offers a chance to expose the realities these individuals face when trying to rebuild their lives and re-enter society. As importantly, for the public, the project provokes consideration regarding how society perceives and judges people with tattoos and violent pasts and seeks to garner empathy for those caught in the crosshairs of gang life as they try to change their futures.”
Even the men in the photographs had strong reactions to them.
After seeing the photos side by side, one of the men said:
“Like right here makes me feel like just a normal bystander. Like a normal guy. And right here it makes me feel like all the sh*t I’ve been through. Seeing all these years on my back. You know, the tattoos I’ve done in jail. The prison bars, the shields you earn in prison […] I regret everything.”
Another man explained how much he wished he didn’t have his gang tattoos and how much pain they have caused him and his family.
He explained:
“My 5-year-old boy, I love him to death man. I’d do anything for him. I just don’t want him to do that. He’s already checking out my tattoos. He’s saying, ‘Why do you have horns?’ and stuff like that. F*ck, it’s hard to tell him like. I don’t know what to tell a 5-year-old, you know? Sometimes I think in my head like maybe if I just don’t be around him like he won’t be like me, you know? Like he won’t be nothing like me, ’cause he won’t see me as I am.”
Some of the photos have been posted online.
Many people are aware of the stigma associated with these gang tattoos and have sympathized with the former gang members. They feel that they should be given a second chance to live their lives outside of the gangs.
One person commented:
“They should give these men a second chance at life. Help then remove all those tattoos, that way they can learn how to be a ‘normal’ individual in society and not feel secluded. Seems like some of those guys really regret their wrongdoings.”
Another said:
“That’s sad these lads are a victim of their circumstances. They come from poverty believing that being in a gang will make them money they maybe do not ever believe that they will actually come to something, so they join the crowd. I believe this is the problem in society right now we are not giving these kids self-esteem not showing them there is a way out of their troubles.”
The book is available for purchase.
The author hopes that it will help people be more compassionate toward others. Just because a person has done something awful in the past, this doesn’t mean they can’t change their lives. Just because a person has tattoos, this doesn’t mean they are in a gang or a bad person.
Watch their emotional reactions below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
