Tonight at 10:30 CST log on to http://bodysuspension.org/ to view a live suspension performance by Stelarc!
TOKYO – 11 MAY 1980. PHOTO: KENJI NOZAWA
Stelarc has been featured on ModBlog before, most notably in the 2004 video interview he did with Shannon.
Don’t miss out on a chance to watch this event! As mentioned above it will begin streaming LIVE on bodysuspension.org starting at 10:30 CST (11:30 EST).
A few short weeks prior to his passing, Shannon had been working on new designs for BMEshop. The Art of Suspension, displaying the various styles of suspensions that have been performed, was the last shirt that he had completed.
Per Shannon’s request, we would like to use this shirt as a fundraiser in order to raise funds for his daughter, Ari Larratt, who lives with her mother, Rachel Larratt.
The shirt has Shannon’s design on the front and printed on the back is the Militia logo In Memoriam of Shannon.
The shirts start at $20 and there is an option to add a donation amount. The final amount of the shirt you select will display on the top next to the name of the shirt as well as on the left of the donation drop down menu on the shop page.
Please note that the shirts will not be able to be printed until after Rachel and Ari return from Canada, which will be around mid April. They will be printed as soon as possible and shipped shortly after that. Thank you.
The outpouring of support the community has shown since Shannon’s passing has touched and overwhelmed us. Many people have talked about auctioning off paintings, jewelry and other items Shannon has given them in order to donate the money to Ari, Shannon’s and Rachel’s daughter. While this is a wonderful gesture, we would prefer if you could keep it safe and cherish it. There is no need to auction off anything in order to provide financial support for Ari as she has been living solely with Rachel for over 2 years and is well cared for by her mother. We have been keeping an eye out for auctions so that we may purchase the work to give to Ari. If, for some reason, you don’t want to keep the item or find that you’re unable to, please consider sending it to Ari so that she may have her father’s work to cherish. You can contact Jen (support@bme.com) for more information on where to send it if this is something you would like to do and she will provide you with a shipping address.
People have been inquiring about sending in donations to support Ari and we are deeply moved by your kindness. If you would like to donate money that will go directly to Ari’s immediate care, we ask that you please send it to the PayPal account listed below. All funds sent to this account are deposited directly into a savings account in Ari’s name. They can be sent via PayPal to arilarratt@gmail.com. Please make sure not to create automatic Paypal links from BME as direct traffic from BME (and other sites prohibited from using Paypal) have caused those accounts and related funds to be seized by Paypal. We don’t want this to happen. Please include your name and shipping address so that Rachel and Ari can send you a special “thank you” card to show their appreciation for keeping them in your thoughts and hearts during this tremendously difficult time in their lives.
Please also consider continuing to contribute to BME. Your contributions ensure that Shannon’s legacy remains alive and also directly helps to support Ari. We would love it if you have photos of Shannon, from events and other meet ups, to please consider sending those in as well. They are a wonderful memory for all of us to share and for Ari to see as well. Submissions can be emailed directly to submissions@bme.com or sent through your BME account.
We ask that people please refrain from emailing Ari. If you would like to send a message of condolence to her please send it to Rachel (rachel@bme.com – please put Ari’s name in the subject line) so that she may read it to her or save it for a later time when it is more appropriate.
We are aware that various members of the community are getting together to hold memorials in Shannon’s memory. This is a wonderful gesture. We would ask that you please provide us with the information on any local memorials and we will help to pass on that information. We will announce, at a later date, when a larger memorial will be taking place. A private memorial for family is already planned.
Again we are touched and overwhelmed by the love and support the community has shown and we thank you and appreciate the understanding you have shown us while we continue to grieve.
The following photo was sent in by Eric who did this branding on his knee as a tribute to Shannon, taking the calm logo and incorporating Shannon’s facial tattoos onto it. 
If you have a BME tattoo (or scar) or plan on getting one please submit photos, videos if you have them, a write up of your experience either through your account or via email to submissions@bme.com.
Macro Culture:
When a large number of people who may be a part of different backgrounds, fields or vocations come together for a common cause or idea, it is called a macro culture. This can be better understood by knowing what are micro culture and macro culture and their differences.
A micro culture is when there is a sub culture of people belonging to a specific group, organization, profession or a community. When many people from different micro cultures or sub cultures come together in support of a different culture that brings these micro cultures together, this is called a macro culture.
Tattoo Festivals
Tattoo festivals or tattoo conventions are exhibitions or conventions for people who are interested in the art of tattooing to come together. These tattoo festivals started way back in the seventies. Today there are Tattoo Festivals that take place all over the world. These festivals vary from being a day long festival to a few days depending on how big the festivals are. There is generally a sponsorship by local or international businesses for these events.
Tattoo festivals get people together from all walks of life. There are stalls of individual or groups of tattoo artists showcasing their talents. Generally there are different types of tattoo contests for the artists to participate in it. Nowadays these festivals include music, entertainment, tattoo artists, tattoo enthusiasts etc. In the field of tattooing there are different types of tattoos, out of these different examples of body art are showcased in these festivals.
Tattoo Festivals- a Macro Culture
Many people visit these festivals from different diverse backgrounds. Tattooing is not just some rebel culture or small subculture anymore but many people from different fields visit tattoo festivals or participate in it. These include tattoo artists, painters, performers, pinup models and just enthusiasts who like tattooing from all walks of life participate in tattoo festivals. It is not just one small section of society anymore. These tattoo festivals are gaining more and more popularity as people from various backgrounds and from micro cultures participate in it.
As we see that there are people participating in tattoo festivals from different micro cultures in society, the tattoo festivals are not just small micro cultures existing among a stereotypical set of individuals. It is a macro culture with people from various micro cultures coming together for a single culture of tattoo festivals which are now a macro culture phenomenon.
There are many people who go crazy for tattoos. Even girls are spending lots of money on tattoos to look stylish. However, there are some people who are getting their body tattooed completely including eyes. Recently a tattoo enthusiast, Mathew Whelan had spent almost 300hours for getting his body tattooed. You might get surprised, but he had spent 20,000dollars on ink. This news had become a hot topic everywhere, and Mathew got a wide publicity too. You will really get surprised on seeing the body and eye of Mathew!
Why Mathew changed his name to body art?
This is the reason why he had changed his name legally to body-art. It might be quite interesting, but it is true. This 33 year old person had tattooed the white portion of his eye. Almost 80% of his body is covered with ink, thus he stood as the Britain’s most popular and best tattooed man. Recently he said that it is the body art is the nothing but modifying your body. Moreover, it is a traditional art which existed from many years. He also said that he had got a great respect for the body modification, and it is a culture and art.
Mathew explains the history of body art to the people who stares at him, especially for the kids. He is a person who treats his body and god equal, like for Christians the god Jesus, for him his body. Actually, it was his uncle and father’s tattoos which inspired Mathew a lot. His first tattoo is a British bull dog, which he got tattooed when he was 16 years old. Scorpions, snakes, vampires, eyeballs will be the major portion of his body art. He is a person who takes the opinion of the physicians beforehand to avoid the risks involved in the tattooing. Recently he consulted an optician while tattooing the white part of his eye.
Non-profit organization:
This crazy, great person had also set-up a nonprofit organization which is named ‘Modify ‘and the main motto of this organization is to help the people who had interest on body modifications. According to him, tattooing is his lifestyle and he had lots of belief on bodistry and skinology. This great personality added that, he want to leave his body to the museum or to his family members. Recently, a person from Canada approached him to ask whether he could donate his skull after his death in order to use it as a paint pot.
I have started and stopped this update several times because I honestly don’t know what to say and nothing I could say would be adequate. It is with sadness and regret that I have to announce that Shannon has passed away. We will post something more at a later date but right now we are all still reeling and grieving. We ask that you please respect Rachel and her daughter’s privacy at this time as well as the rest of Shannon’s family and friends. Thank you for understanding and being such a wonderful and supportive community.
You can visit Shannon’s personal blog here.
While Shannon is still out I wanted to drop in with a photo that was submitted to BME yesterday. I found it quite beautiful and wanted to share.
This was sent in by Pink_Jonka in Croatia. There is something so serene about it. While I’ve never suspended, I have been there for several suspension events and there has always been something really beautiful about the atmosphere, the way everyone comes together and supports one another, that I really love.
Photo by Katja Goljat.
See more photos like this in the Suspensions gallery.
Leaving aside those tattoos that feature catchy carvings and sloppy devils, the ‘in’ things nowadays are Christian symbols and designs. For males, the choice can be quite easy! After all, they have their biceps and entire backs to get inked and show off! But selecting Christian tattoos can be a difficult decision for women. But we are here with some trending designs and pictures that girls can opt for. Catch them and get trendy.
Cross
The Christian Cross is probably the oldest representation of Christianity. You can have a cross inked almost anywhere in your body! Spare your ankles of course! Excluding that part of your body, you will always have the freedom to flaunt an inked waist or a beautiful neck base!
Holy Spirit
Yet another superb choice for women! A pious bird tattoo would be a pretty thing to go for! This symbol allows you to have a choice of colours! The base of the neck or shoulders could be an ideal place for this amazing tattoo!
Christian name
Don’t want to go for symbols and signs? Well, hit the entire idea with the religion itself! ‘Christian’, written in a long stylish and trendy manner is in fashion now. Get your waist inked with a long word that reads ‘Christian’, and believe us; you will rock your identity!
A verse
Are you a fan of bare beck? Then say ‘Bingo’! You are at liberty to show off your sleek hind skin with a bit of carving! Choose a verse from the Bible and have it tattooed onto your back! It is bound to give an astounding appearance!
Holy Fish
You will know that fish is another representation of Christianity. It is said that Jesus used this symbol to leave signs and trails of his presence at a particular place! Thus, you can use the idea as your inspiration. Leave your mark with this mythological magic!
Sorry for the radio silence folks. Shannon is dealing with some things but he’ll be back! I thought I’d break the silence with a BME girl. I’m not sure I completely believe that halo. Thanks to Mirka X Mythra for the photo.
Mythra
See more like this in the BMEgirls gallery.
You might think that there is an ‘all good factor’ about these cute girls and hunk men! But it is probably not so. Celebrities have often been surrounded by stupid things hovering around! The latest threat to these celebrities is the fact that now their fans have started hooking up their eyes onto their favorite celebrity tattoos. Listed below are some of the worst and possibly, the most offensive celebrity tattoos ever!
· Amada Seyfried’s nickname
A recent turn-on that Amanda has faced is regarding her sweet nick-name, inked onto her pretty ankle. You won’t be able to clearly see it! But take a close look and you will find that Amanda’s nick-name is actually Minge! Now let me explain what Minge actually means. It is an English slang that signifies the female genitalia! Now is that not really offensive?
· Angelina Jolie’s love
This beautiful lady has a lot of fame and fancy about her! And equivalent is the amount of cloud of personal flings! While Billy Bob had been fortunate about spending quite some time with Angie, his name, it seems is more fortunate! Even after breaking off from her former husband, Jolie still has his name inked onto her arm! Shall we call it retrospection or offensive foolishness?
· Dean McDermott’s semi nude wife
The third, most hilarious one is that this actor’s love for his wife has prompted him to ink her on his arm in just the attire he would love to see her in! But he should have realized that there are certain thing that are better kept private! The star recently flaunted Tori clad in a bra! That is seemingly offensive! Well, prospective happy realization Dean!
It is not that we are asking you to be complete smithereens! Some literary personalities have given a mystic badness to snakes, and why not? Which human is not afraid of snakes? Yet, snakes are the most mysterious kinds of creatures with a world of curiosity about them. There is always an air of awe as well as fear surrounding these reptiles. Want to have that same feeling honed over yourself? Well, you must then go for sane snake tattoos! Here are 5 exemplary snake tattoos of all times.
· Skull snakes
These are usually representation of black power, invincible and evidence of complete authority. Skull snakes are extremely popular among men these days. You can have them inked all over your arms, your back or your lower waist
· Chinese snakes
In the Chinese culture snakes are referred whenever it is God in picture. Snakes have a huge religious importance among the Chinese. It symbolizes grace, calmness and perceptiveness. Do you remember snake as one of the Kung-Fu warriors in Kung-Fu Panda? Then spot one on your body!
· Circle of life
Snakes, due to their flexible body structure, can easily modify into odd shapes; the shape of infinity being one of them. In the world of ink and tattoo, snakes have been seen to complete the infinity symbol in the easiest manner! You can have one carved on your shoulder as well!
· Snakes as protection
In Greek Mythology, snakes are used to symbolize healing and protection. Consequently, many sacred forms like discs are indicated by a snake. And for you, display a big one all around your abdomen to show that you are protected and no one can ever harm you!
· Japanese snakes
These are big ones with some dragon-like features drawn on them. Very much similar to their Chinese counterparts, they are again wonderful tattoos to flaunt.
‘Ambigrams’ are generally those words that would read exactly the same no matter from whichever side you read them. In the tattoo world however, ambigrams would include all those trendy ones that would look same from both sides! Sometimes that would mean exactly the opposites too! Let’s take a look at the coolest ambigrams available!
· Saint-sinner
This is the ‘going’ type of ambigram. Read it straight and it would be a sane saint. Read it upside down, you would find the opposite of Saint, ‘Sinner’! It is a wonderful tattoo, precisely a miracle of the artist!
· Loyalty-Betrayal
For those who wish to celebrate their ex’s ditching them can definitely go for the ‘Loyalty-Betrayal’ symbol. An exemplary tattoo in itself, it has got a lot of power in it! And most importantly, it is stunning to mark how people carve out wonderful art forms to express their emotions!
· True love
Well, this tattoo is not exactly what literal ambigrams stand for. But yet the words, ‘True’ and ‘Love’ would look pretty much the same! You need to give a long glance at it to understand the underlying phrase. Again, a wonderful combination and highly appreciable!
· Truth hurts
‘Truth hurts’ – doesn’t it hold true for the entire Universe? Most people wouldn’t dare display it. But if you are among the bold ones who would take pride in facing the truth, have this ambigram inked onto your skin. Recommendations are that have it inked on your hands. The effect would be completely stunning!
· Pain-love
Another truth we all know is that love is painful. Despite this we fall in love! So, if you have experienced that characteristic pain in your life, express it with this amazing tattoo! This ambigram again would hold eyeballs still! Another miracle from the world of tattoo artists!
A few days ago I was out to dinner with old BME friends, and one conversation that came up was some of BME’s old April Fools articles. I think my favorite was “Love At First Bite” because it was so believable and fooled a good percentage of even the most experienced readers… But the article that started BME’s pranks was one first published April 1, 1999 — “Adding and Subtracting” — and one of the reasons it was so successful was that it was not just BME’s first joke article, but was published in an era before April 1st being a day where the entire web was flooded with nothing but jokes, making the whole thing less convincing. Anyway, since I couldn’t find this article in BME’s public articles, I’ve decided to republish here for historical reasons! After the article you can also read some of the responses the article generated, including a multitude of requests for interviews including Details, ICON, and The Village Voice.
Ryan and Dave are the most unique identical twins you’ll ever meet. After tiring of piercing, tattoos, and implants about three years ago, they began exploring much heavier surgical modifications. Dave had spent two and a half years in pre-med at Queens University in Kingston, and using contacts made both there and online he and his twin brother have changed themselves in ways far beyond anything anyone else has ever attempted.
BME: Let’s quickly talk about how this all got started.
RYAN: I guess when we were about thirteen we started getting tattooed. This is when we were living in Phoenix. I won’t deny that we had pretty poor judgement and got some pretty bad tattoos. Luckily, they were fairly light and over time we got some real nice coverups, as you can see.
DAVE: Our lives in Phoenix were actually pretty rough and our parents knew that we were running with the wrong crowd, so when we were sixteen they sent us to live with our aunt in Toronto — Canada — it was a bit of a culture shock but turned out for the best. I finished high school at the top of my class and was offered a biology scholarship at Queens University which soon transitioned into Pre-Med. Ryan stayed in Toronto and got hooked up with the piercing scene.
RYAN: Some friends of mine were just setting up a new studio — Dave and I had been doing piercings on our friends for about a year, and it just seemed like the right thing at the right time so I decided to become a piercer. At this point the piercing community was pretty young and it was an “anything goes” scene and still mostly underground — I got to meet a lot of guys into amputation and castration and really heavy stuff. It got me thinking a lot about what we wanted to do with our own bodies. I introduced Dave to them as well and he shared my feelings.
BME: What happened next?
Ryan “holding on to” Dave’s arm.
RYAN: After discussing and thinking about it very seriously for about a year, we decided to take the big step. To put it simply, Dave had his entire right arm (since we’re left handed) amputated at the shoulder and we surgically reattached it immediately behind my right pectoral muscle.
BME: Wow. If I wasn’t looking at it right now I’d never believe it. How was the procedure done?
DAVE: Obviously there was no clinic willing to do a procedure like this (we didn’t even bother to ask), so we had to do it all under local anaesthesia since we simply didn’t have the facilities to safely administer general anaesthesia. We had a group of two practitioners and two assistants working on us. First we elevated my arm and using an Ace bandage we slowly squeezed all of the blood out of it. Then we tourniquetted as high up on the shoulder it could be, and injected lidocaine into the exsanguinated veins. Almost immediately there was no feeling whatsoever. An amputation knife cut through the skin and muscles, and a bone saw did the final removal. Bleeders were ligated and the wound was cleaned up. This entire part of the procedure took about forty minutes.
RYAN: At the same time as Dave was being worked on, the other practitioner and his assistant prepared the attachment site on my chest. Veins and arteries were spliced to supply blood to Dave’s arm and the skin and some of the subcutaneous tissue was peeled up to merge as smoothly as possible. Luckily the healing went smoothly. The transplant healed up in about a month, as did Dave’s stump.
BME: You’re a bit vague as to who did it. Who were the “practitioners” and how did you find them?
DAVE: When we had the procedure done we signed non-disclosure agreements and legally swore to protect the identities of everyone involved. As far as how we met them, you’d be amazed how many kooks you meet in med school. That’s as far as I’m willing to go on that question; I’m sure your readers will understand. This type of procedure is simply not acceptable.
BME: Did you have any difficulties with rejection?
RYAN: That’s the nice thing about being identical twins! We share the same genetics!
BME: You can’t be that identical — You’re wearing glasses and Dave isn’t.
RYAN: Dave wears contacts; he’s vain. Anyway, because our genetics are the same, healing a transplant is no more difficult that healing a severe laceration. I’m exaggerating a little, but it’s not the same as a regular transplant.
Left: Dave, Right: Ryan
BME: The arm is amazing, but I’ve got to admit that this “alien finger” thing you’ve done is really something. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s actually quite disconcerting!
RYAN: Yeah, we’re very proud of it. When people see the arm, they think it was an accident — transplants like this do get done every once in a while for medical reasons. The finger though, that’s art. We challenge anyone to take body art to a higher level.
BME: How did you pull this one off?
DAVE: First we removed the centre joint of my finger, along with the skin and just over an inch of overhanging tendon. Then we split Ryan’s finger at the end of the first joint. It was relatively easy to insert the extra joint, especially since we had so much extra tendon to play with. The amazing thing is that Ryan actually has feeling in the end of that finger now — the nerves were compatible!
BME: Dave, why are you wearing a bandaid over your stubby finger?
DAVE: When we put my finger tip back on, minus the middle joint, we didn’t have enough tendon to work with so I don’t actually have very much mobility in it. I tend to bang it a lot. We’re actually going to remove it altogether and remove the bone right down to the wrist. That will let us shift the little finger over without much apparent scarring giving us a very realistic three fingered hand.
BME: Can I ask what the two of you do for a living? I assume you don’t have regular jobs.
DAVE: We make a great living in the traditional world. I’m not going to say the name of our company, but to suffice it to say that we’re the sixth largest producer of adult entertainment software in North America. The Ferrari Dino 246 that Ryan is leaning on right now is a $50,000 car. That may not seem like a lot of money, but we paid it off in one day. Not all “freaks” are punk kids.
BME: I know you don’t really like talking about this that much, but… why?
RYAN: First and foremost, we consider ourselves artists. A lot of our friends and associates who have similar interests have a more fetish oriented body modification attitude about it — while we respect that point of view, it’s not what we’re about.
BME: Any regrets?
DAVE: I guess I’m the one that should answer that one. No. Not at all. We share everything. I don’t feel that I’ve given anything up. I’m not sure if anyone who’s not an identical twin can really understand the strange bond that’s going on here. I’ve never had a phantom limb pain. It really feels like it’s all still a part of me.
BME: What modifications does the future hold for you two?
DAVE: We’ve got some genital work planned that’s pretty exciting. As soon as it happens we’ll be sure to update BME readers with some photos.
APRIL FOOLS!
And now the fun part! Here are some of the letters that were received at the fake email address claiming to belong to Ryan and Dave. I should point out that everything in the article is theoretically possible. Let’s hope that some day a couple brave folks try it. At least it made everyone think! I was also really happy to see how positive the feedback was. A funny side note — some major mainstream press even wanted to do articles on this! So you’re in good company if you were fooled.
Thank you for your recent contribution in interview form to http://www.bme.freeq.com. While I am not a paying member of the e-zine, I do enjoy perusing what is available for free. In addition, I am not intimately familiar with the body modification community, so I am unsure of how much ‘toungue-in-cheek’ humor goes on about (for example) how extreme people’s tastes and actions become in the realm of body modification.
What I am trying to delicately state is, what you purport to have done must be a joke. I am not medically trained, but I simply do not believe that what you purport to have done is medically possible. In addition, it would seem prudent that anyone who had any designs on amputating a sibling’s limb and attaching it to their own body would seek psychological attention.
So, if it is a joke — bravo! It’s very funny and carries the same punch as say, the urban legend regarding Rod Stewart swallowing 2 gallons of male ejaculate.
I have just finished reading your interview on BME and was totally amazed. Basically, I just want to offer you both a great big pat on the back. Not only have you had the courage to satisfy your greatest desires, you’re changing the face of body modification. It’s a popular misconception that body modification is all about piercing and tattooing, and you two are the exact opposite!
I admire your courage greatly. I can’t get that point across enough. Not only are your mods innovative, they’re truly beautiful and must make you both feel fantastic.
Being just 17 years old, my forays into body modification have been limited. However, I do have a beautiful blackwork back piece that I’m enormously proud of!
It pleases me greatly to learn that your modifications began at such a young age. Like you, I may regret what I have now in years to come, but in my eyes the human body is infinitely changeable. It’s good to know that I’m not the only young person who was seriously into altering their body. It’s sad that my age receives negative reactions from the body modification community. I am never really taken seriously, and have even been accused of being a groupie!
Anyway, I did kind of lose my point there, but I can’t say how much I admire your courage and strength for going for what you want and believe in.
I wish you all the best for the future, and hope that you two can go some way in eradicating the prejudice and misconceptions surrounding body modification.
I read the article on you guys, “Adding and Subtracting,” with the common amazement of most readers. I was actually disappointed, however, to read that it was posted on April 1st. Since that date has past, please fess up, am I and April Fool or not? Though I could never attempt such a thing, I find it inspirational that two men could do something so radical.
Hey, my name is ***, I’m GWM, 31, a horny landscaper from Mass. I’ve recently developed a fascination/fetish about castrations and amputations. Have either of you guys wondered where these desires come from? Past, future lives perhaps? Or maybe everyone has these thoughts and they never let the seeds germinate.
Always been intrigued by twins, too. You’re lucky to have each other, I’m sure you know that. How do you guys like to get off? Do you have the same sexual orientation or desires?
I’d like to know/see/witness more about the genital stuff.
Who are Ryan and Dave? Are they cute and horny? Who is Shannon? Is she cute and horny? Can we have a party?
This has got to be a hoax. What the fuck????? I’m astonished. Speechless. Aghast. Must be fake; do you have more pictures? The ones you have on the internet could easily have been manipulated. Could be a prosthesis. After all, you are into adult entertainment and computers so…….
Anyway, even if this is true….WHATEVER.
Enjoy your third hand.
Bravo! I must say that you both really kick ass. Though I do admit that your modification is a bit too drastic for my immediate tastes, I was so wonder stricken By you article and your photos that I felt compeled to write in to you both and congratualate you on what I believe to be one of the most astonishing things that I’ve seen in my life thus far. I’m still in a mild shock that some one was able to successfully pull this off, let alone to this degree, But I’ll be damned if I’m not going to congratualate you on a job well done! I do have a question though. Does the second right arm and finger operate, or is it just the finger? Thanks for such an awe inspiring article. you’ve really made my day!
You guys are the coolest! What you are doing is unbelievable and I am so glad I could see the pictures on the BME.FreeQ page. You are creating art with your bodies… Wow!
I wish I was a twin so I could do similar things. I have a PA but nothing can compare to you guy. The beauty of it is if you want to change it back… you just reattach it… Your bodies are really works of art. Keep up the good work!
I guess you must be sick of this type of mail, but I must say that I am very impressed with your mods. You must share quite a strong bond as twins. Anyway, I’ll keep it short. I respect your work, and it’s great to see new limits being pushed. Your resolve is inspiring. Good luck with your next mods!
Two words: Fucking Brilliant.
the report on the twins was pretty kewl, but i have a slight bit of skepticism churning through my brain as to weather the did or not.
would love to hear more about their transplants and organ swapping.
I read an article about you two and found myself in total disbelief. Please convince me you are for real. I am not sure what to believe. I feel really ignorant toward the whole thing-is it real or is it just a trick you are playing on body artists to try to get them to to harder shit? Either way, I am super impressed. Email me other pictures, links, whatever you think can help me believe this really happened.
well….
if it’s a joke..then ha ha ha … i didnt know that it was the 1st of April but shouldnt it b removed after the 1st…..by the way…it does drow a whole new light on all the freeqs that you host…i guess now i cant belive who is real modificated and who is a fake one
it does sound too freeq…switching hands…
i was wondering how all the modification pop up to be in Toronto….is there something in that air?….acid?….
well nice joke…if it is a joke…
Hah! “Interview posted April 1st.” That’s a good one, Shanon.
I just read your interview today, and I am very impressed: my hat goes off to you… let’s just say that I identify strongly with what you have done.
I’m 22, have about 100 square inches of branding work done on me, about 10 implants and amputated my own pinkie in September, way before I ever landed on this site. I’m going to have the bone cleaned off, polished, autoclaved and implanted back into me – and I thought that was original!!! By what I read, I’m assuming you guys are around 25.
Anyways, I will be attending Modcon and definitely hope that you will be there – I would really like to meet you in person. Please write back, I would definitely like to establish a good contact with you… maybe it’s because you’re closer to my age (I identify with that a lot more than some 50 year-old) and maybe it’s because you have done what you have out of creative expression, as opposed to a physical/fetishistic desire. Most of what I do is of a conceptual nature, which I interpret as being a fair balance between artistic transformation and personal exploration.
i couldnt come up with a sbject without sounding critical or corny so i decided not to. IT seems to me that some some people are born with with the sort things that you call art we call them defects. It also seems to be a mockary of those with true defects. Unless you somehow manage to make this transition from freakish to cool. In which case those people with real defects will appreciate your contribution. Also what you have done is more science than art. piercing now thats art. and there is no thing better than a tribal tattoo in my eyes. in conclusion i ask you this what about when your seventy. what will you think then?
After seeing the pictures from the Adding and Subtracting article I must admit I was very disturbed. For the first time in many years I found myself nauseated and not since a brush with kiddie porn have I found myself filled with such a sensation of innate wrongness. I am left with the question, Why? What prompted the brothers to do this to themselves. The article itself fails to answer anything but the how of it.
I just got reading your interview that you had with BME, and to tell you the truth, I would never do anything like that and the only stuff I’ve ever done was a tattoo and a couple of piercings!
I honestly feel that you guys are very brave when it comes to what you’ve done to your bodies. I’m happy for you both because you have such a strong relationship as well as a strong friendship, and that you guys didn’t let and wont let anything stand in your way!
I do wonder what the rest of your family thinks about this whole thing, if I’m not out of line?!
Ryan & Dave, you both amaze me so very much! You may seem strange to the common I, but I think it’s great that you did what you wanted to do and not what anyone else told you to do.
P.S. If you don’t mind me asking, what are you planning on doing to your genitalia and will that effect your sex life in any way.
P.S.S. Hook it up with the adult films, they are exciting and interesting to watch and plus I get ideas from them. HAHAHA!!!
loved the interview that you gave, and I am really curious as to what genital mods you have planed… I Imagined a few things, but would be greatful if you could give a few hints, I am most interested! thanks guys! keep up the fantastic work!!!
Was this a real piece or was it an April 1st wind up?? I stumbled across this on the first and was completely facinated but then thought it couldn’t possibly be, please don’t take any offence I was really just wondering.
I came across your story on the bme page and simply cannot believe it. Even the posting date is April 1st!! I cannot understand why you would give up your arm (Dave). That’s permanent… Oh well, on with some questions.. what about the extra arm, is it dying? i guess the muscles are atrophying (sp?) Do you anticipate that it will have to be removed in the future? How can its weight be supported? I cannot belive this.. oh well. Please write back.
Hey guys. I love the arm transplant. I’ve also been interested in extreme mods but never seen anyone that has done something like that. I’d like to run something past you to see if it would even be feasable. I have larger feet and hate it. I’d love to find someone to trade feet with. Do you know if something like that would be surgically possible? I’ve even thought about finding 2 guys and putting one of each of their feet on me and giving them each one of mine. Make some interesting pairs of feet :)
I was amazed at the apparently successful cadaver hand transplant to a living body, but this tops that…what a story! Is there any feeling or control of the transplanted arm or finger?
I just wanted to start this letter saying I have so much respect for both of you. You created a whole new type of body art, and I honestly can say I only dreamt of this type of procedure happening. I personally, am not interested in doing this type of body modification on myself, but I plan on becoming an emergency room doctor, and I would definatly help people with a passion like yours. Can Ryan move Dave’s arm thats attatched to him? Is there any feeling in it? I also love the way the “alien” hand looks. It is very beautiful. Is the feeling the same or is it a different type of feeling? I once read that if you were to cut a peice of your skin, and then (with a few veins connected) move it to another location of the body, and you scratch it, it will feel like your scratching the original location.. sorry if that was confusing, I can’t really think of the words to explain it :). Anyway I just wanted you to know that other people find beauty in your work, and respect your ability to be different in such an extreme way. Write back if ya want, I would love to hear from you guys :)
I read with fascination Shannon’s interview with you two on BME. Ryan, I imagine your extra arm is cool, but from what I understand of anatomy and your description of the attachment procedure, you probably don’t have much (if any) feeling in the extra arm and no motor control…am I right? Still, it’s an amazing operation, and I’m duly impressed!
Dave, I hope you’re getting along well one-armed. Are you planning to submit any photos to BME of your stump?
Have you had many people ask to be placed in contact with the practitioners that performed the operation? I certainly don’t expect anything of the sort from y’all considering that you don’t know me, but one of these days soon, I hope to find someone willing to amputate my right arm below the elbow. Ah well, dreaming on….
Congratulations to both of you on your accomplishments, and best of luck in future!
I’m sure you guys have gotten a lot of emails like this, but i just read Adding and Subtracting and i was totally blown away by what you guys are doing. I’d never imagined that such mods could be performed successfully…….the alien finger was great…..
neways, i wish you guys success in all your future mods…
I can’t say I would ever even want to do that to myself. That took balls! My father in law had a foot removed (diabetes) and wanted to keep the bones to make a necklace… the doc wouldn’t let him though. I have to know one thing. Does the arm work? Can you open a beer and drink it with that hand?
Talk about a party accessory. I’ve been caught drinking two fisted, but three fisted…. Someone call Gunnies!
I just read your interview on BME peple and I have to say that you guys are buetiful. That was the most extreme thing I have ever seen. I really commend you! Just wondering what are you planning for your genitals, and how old are you guys?
You guys are so full of shit
Awesome April Fool’s. (grin)
That’s phuckin’ hilarious.
My name is **** and i´m an identical twin myself, I must say that what you guys have done is realy great, I understand the kind of bond you´re talking about. Even though I live in Brazil and my brother is living in Hawaii, we will get together soon and hopefully take our body modifications a step further.
Shannon, that was a real blast! Nice one.
Really fascinated by and enthusiastic about your interview at BME’s I would like to make some comments and ask some questions:
How long is Dave’s right arm stump as it has not been a shoulder disarticulation?
Are there only blood vessels connected to the arm in its new place on Ryan’s chest or are there also any nerves and muscles connected to its new base? In other words: Ryan, have you got any sensations in your third arm and is there any chance for even the slightest movements of the arm or the fingers? Is it already more than one year since the transfer has taken place (usual time for nerves to restore)?
As far as now I have heard about three men having their right hand amputated voluntarily (and two of them also have a penectomy and one nut less!!). You have told about your time as piercers meeting a lot of guys “into amputation and castration”. How many guys of that kind have you met, what has been their aim in both cases – and did they reach their aim – and how did they reach it?
I am very sorry about Dave’s shortened finger being not as functional as Ryan’s elongated one. Good luck for the next change of Dave’s hand and good luck for all future plans you have in mind. Can you give me an idea of the “genital work planned” next?
Many thanks in advance for answering my questions and with kind regards and best wishes
WOW! Your interview was fantastic. I have thought a lot about what could be done with transplants among twins and identical twins at that. You mentioned feeling in the finger modification, do you have any feeling in the arm transplant? Finally, I don’t know what you have in mind for the genital modifications but, here are some ideas. First, something similar to the alien finger. Perform a glansectomy on one of the penises, cut the other penis about one inch above the base, attach the glans of the first penis to the short remaining shaft of the other penis and the shaft and head to the long shaft stump of the first penis. This will result in one person with a very short penis and one with a very long one.
Second option would be to trade penises. After distinguishing them, cut them off and reattach them to the opposite person. Be sure to have before and after pictures so the BME viewers can see that the penises have actually changed ownership.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do and I’ll be watching BME for updates.
Unfortunately, I am not a twin so things like this can only be a fantasy for me. Bye.
April Fools?
Sorry it’s been a while since I posted one of these (click here for the full series) — as always, this series seeks to show people with significant facial modifications, with photos showing where they started and how they got to where they are now. If you’d like to be in a future series, please get in touch with me — I’d like to keep this series going! In any case, here are today’s personal evolutions (click to zoom in):
The Evolution of Iestyn Flye
The Evolution of Jason Sand
The Evolution of Jester Mayhone
The Evolution of Revina Lower
The Evolution of Victor Peralta
The village of Caledonia recently witnessed official cancellation of an ordinance that led to the official ban of all tattoo establishments in the area. Tattoos are quite in trend these days but the village board had passed an ordinance that imposed an effective ban on every tattoo establishment. This Monday the Caledonia Village board sat again and voted in the favor of repealing the ordinance. This lifting of the official ban is due to the continuous efforts of one person and that is Eve Thielen. Some of the people believe that this decision will result in even less folks opting for traditional tattoos.
Eve Thielen happens to be the owner of a tanning spa in the area which is known as Vacation tanning spa. She has extended an offer to provide services such as cosmetic micro pigmentation plus tattoo removal to the people. According to Eve Thielen she will have all the things required by the coming summer and can extend these facilities by then. One of the new services extended by Eve is tattoo removal and other than that her spa will also extend the facility of micro pigmentation. Cosmetic micro pigmentation is the process in which the process of tattoo making is utilized to apply permanent makeup.
This makeup can be like applying eye liner for life and similar things. Eve Thielen said that she is in need of a supplement source of income as the tanning place is not doing well as it used to. The tanning industry has shown signs of downfall and that is why Eve is looking for alternate measures. She was however shocked to know about the ordinance passed by the village board that lay a ban on the tattoo places. Eve Thielen however considers her services different from that of a typical tattoo parlor.
The Caledonia village board took a unanimous vote on this Monday and reached a verdict to lift the ban they imposed on the tattoo establishments. This new development that came as pleasant news for Eve Thielen will prove to be good news for other traditional tattoo establishments as well. The village attorney Elaine Ekes wrote a letter to the Caledonia village board in which she mentioned that the previous regulation on tattoo places was way too much restrictive and some reasonable restrictions will help in properly restricting the future tattoo establishments to the commercial districts.
Ferank Manseed, who has now been doing hand-poked tattoos for a decade (“I don’t play with that modern machine nonsense!”) just finished the second session on this amazing swastika/asanoha scalp piece, which now has eleven hours of hand poking in it. I like the 3D effect that makes it look like the design is cut right into the head, kind of a dotwork trompe l’oeil. As you may have guessed Ferank is pure hand-poked all the way, only having used a machine a few times (and that was a long time ago). He says, “the freedom of working by hand has allowed me to tattoo and travel and connect with other handwork tattooists, who are still rare — I like this…”
Like most hand tattooists, Ferank is largely self-taught, doing much of his learning by tattooing his own skin. I asked him what he uses for tools and while he points out that he “can make a tattoo with anything sharp” he usually uses pre-made needles (the same sort that would be put in a machine) strapped to a chopstick. When the tattoo is completed, he removes the needles from the bamboo chopstick, marks the date on it, blesses it with a swastika and an aum and gives it to the client as a souvenir of the experience.
Ferank is based at Northside Private Rooms (one of the rare studios that contains a dedicated hand area) in Newcastle Upone Tyne in England, and you can email him at mudraink@hotmail.com or visit him on Facebook.
I’ve seen more than enough eye tattoos to make me wish the new surgery that may one day be able to give us more functioning eyes to tattoo was available for humans (currently only tested on tadpoles)… As much as I love the effect we’ve achieved on my eyes and wouldn’t change it, as I’ve always tried for a mix of “extreme yet subtle” with my mods, seeing amazing examples like Rasta Fabian‘s bright green eye tattoos make me very jealous. It’s also a good example of how important it is to take into consideration the iris, because the interplay between the new surrounding color and the iris will define a lot of the end effect. It should come as no surprise that this was done by Howie (LunaCobra.net), the most experienced eyeball tattooist this side of Arrakis.
As always, don’t miss the eyeball tattoo FAQ, and if you’re interested in more info, check out the video interview from just before my eyes were re-done in October.
I got a message from Heather Simone this morning asking me how common multiple tongue piercings were, and I totally brushed it off — “psshaw! lots of people have two tongue piercings, get over yourself!” and she replied with something like “oh, because I have THIRTEEN OF THEM and I wondered how common that was…”
Of course I was, like, “THIRTEEN?!?! Well why didn’t you say that in the first place!”
I don’t think thirteen is a world record, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there are less people with ten or more tongue piercings in America than there are States in the Union (although that’s a bad metaphor as she hails from Leighton Buzzard, England) — Heather’s piercings are much, much more unique than I’d given her credit for.
I asked her to tell me a little more about them, and she tells me that initially her plan was to get six of them, in a cross shape, but by the time she hit that goal she was totally addicted and now the design motif is something closer to “where will they fit?” The piercings are all done in 14ga, and as she’s gotten more of them she’s had to start putting smaller beads on the bottom to keep it all comfortable.
Her first six or so tongue piercings were done by “varying artists” that she “barely remembers”, the next few by Blue Jigsaw, and since then — the most recent four — are self done. I asked her if her speech or anything else is affected by having so many, and besides the healing period (“and sometimes not even then”), the answer is no.
In addition to the twelve vertical bars, Heather also has a rare horizontal tongue piercing, done about ten years ago by Mark Stubbings — it actually took her a year to find him after first seeing horizontal tongue piercings on BME and deciding she had to have one. That said, of all the piercings she says the horizontal was the most trouble, including biting through the PTFE bar that she initially wore in it — but it settled down and it’s still there, making this project all the more unique.
As to how far she’ll take it? There’s no upper limit, so she says it’s really just a matter of how many seeing how many she can fit without it starting to majorly affect eating or speaking!
In addition to the picture below (which she adds looks a little off because some of the bars are longer than they need to be), you can see videos of her 6th tongue piercing, her 7th and 8th tongue piercing, as well as her 9th tongue piercing on YouTube.
EDIT/UPDATE: Dominick Arduino, piercer at Starlight Tattoo (starlighttattoo.com) in New Jersey just topped Heather with this photo of one of his customers (who you may recognize from the BME galleries due to the distinctive jewelry — and remember, they can key your car with their tongue if you say anything bad!). This photo, taken last year, shows it with sixteen piercings — sixteen spikes capable of turning fantasies into nightmares — but since then they have added two more (and I am sure will do more after that). I’ll update with a more recent photo when I am able.
This has to be one of the largest examples of [voluntary] skin removal on a face to date, at least in a single session. It was done by Iestyn Flye –who is normally based at London’s Divine Canvas, but tours extensively so visit him on Facebook for more information no matter where you might be — on Marc at Copenhage Body Extremes (bodyextremes.com). The design is based on a Japanese holy hemp leaf pattern. I can’t wait to see this healed, and will definitely post a follow-up when I can (although if you look at the previous scar that runs across the nose, you can get a good idea of what to expect) — I expect the sort of visage that looks like Freddy Krueger from a distance, and then transforms from horrific to beautiful as you get closer. Click for a larger look.
While most implants are still basic shapes or “flash” selected from a limited portfolio (skulls, spiders, biomech ribs, and so on), these days it is possible to get cast custom implants made at a reasonable price and within a reasonable timeframe. Because of that, interesting new markets are starting to evolve that haven’t really existed until now — for example, the person below is a customer of Hugh Mattay’s (fb/hugh.mattay) who has no tattoos and no piercings — just implants! Hugh had already done a finger magnet on him as well as a pair of circular implants on his forearms, but this time he came in with something more complex, a printout of the Fullmetal Alchemist logo (a Japanese manga and video game series), which he wanted to have capped with an eye containing a magnet. Hugh got in touch with Max Yampolskiy (fb/max.yampolskiy) who created this and just three weeks later the customer was getting it implanted in his chest.
I really love that these days people who don’t enjoy the look of tattoos, scars, or piercings — the traditional forms of body art — have this 3D sculpting as a viable alternative. I’m really looking forward to seeing what other projects Hugh and this customer are going to get up to — for example, they’ve discussed stretching his lobes, but using internal implants, without piercings! Below are the Fullmetal Alchemist implant, right after draining 46ml of fluid (eww) (Hugh figures the unusually high amounts of fluid buildup are due to the difficulty of placing the complex shape), and also a picture of the client’s forearm implants.
