Image by Elliott Wilkie

Body modification. This might sound intense and scary to some, but it’s a weird term for something truly wonderful. For many, it’s a cultural tradition seeped in history, for others it’s an expression of art and individuality.

The act of altering one’s appearance, body modification holds countless possibilities, although two of the most common are tattoos and piercings. On a more extreme level, there are practices such as skin stretching, branding and surgery. With options such as snake tongues and elf ears, it can be shocking. It can be stunning. It can break society’s standards of beauty.

Piercing is one of the oldest trends of body modification, and can be traced back thousands of years in cultures across the globe. While piercing can be for a traditional reason, its increasing popularity can be purely aesthetic.

Tattooing also appears throughout ancient history, with even Egyptian mummies discovered with tattoos of animals and symbols – although this was probably a much different process to the mechanics of the modern tattoo machine!

Continue reading: http://tridentmedia.org/the-art-of-body-modification/