Tattoos and people who have them fall victim to many negative stereotypes and misconceptions.
Good thing, people today are more open and accepting of this unique way of self-expression.
They’ve even become some sort of rite of passage, gotten by people to commemorate a life milestone or to keep a loved one’s memory after they’ve passed on.
But if you’re still doubting whether you should cross something off your bucket list and finally get a tattoo, these badass European seniors might just finally convince you to take the leap and do so.
The tattooed seniors of the Netherlands
In a project called “TattooAge: Never Too Old,” photographers Ingrid Meijering and Marion Duimel give us a look into the lives and tattoos of people aged 65 and above.
The project began three years ago when the pair, who are based in The Netherlands, became interested in the tattooed seniors they encountered while at a beach.
Soon, they began getting in touch with the seniors through a variety of ways. They’ve found people to photograph through Facebook groups, visiting tattoo shops, and even just asking around.
In the end, they got 25 people to participate in their photography project and tell their life stories through their tattoos.
The best time to get tattoos
Meijering and Duimel said that they found that a common misconception is that older people got their tattoos when they were young. This is not always the case as they learned from interviews with their subjects.
“Almost everyone assumes they’ve had the tattoo since they were young but most people in the book got it in the last ten years only. We had several people getting their tattoos when they were 80+.”
– the pair in an interview with Buzzfeed.
One example is Toos (pictured above) who decided to shave some parts of her head and arms to get them tattooed when she was 79.
On the other hand, there is Thomas (pictured above) who’s been tattooed for most of his life and is still getting inked even in his old age. He had his first tattoo way back in 1978, and his most recent one is from 2015.
If you want to know more about the story behind Thomas’ tattoos, check out the video below!
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Clarifying misconceptions
By seeing their project and reading their book, the pair want to prove the usual stereotypes associated with tattoos and tattooed people as well as also to share the life stories of the people they found. Meijering and Duimel stated:
“We hope people understand you are never too old for a tattoo, and we want to share the lovely stories behind them. Also, people participating in the project want to show that they are not scary or aggressive”, they said.
They even say that people with more tattoos tend to be sweeter.
“They are all so nice and friendly, almost the more tattoos, the sweeter!.”
Want to know and see more pictures from this photography project? Check out the duo’s website, GetOud
