Regina artist showcases live Indigenous face tattoo ritual

Regina Artist Offers Daughter Conventional Indigenous Face Tattoo

Printed on: Mar 17, 2024

Regina artist Stacey Fayant not too long ago made headlines by giving her daughter Lilla her first conventional Indigenous face tattoo on the Artwork Gallery of Regina. The occasion happened on Saturday, and it was a second crammed with pleasure and curiosity for all who attended.

Stacey Fayant expressed her delight in her daughter, stating, “For anybody her age who’s Indigenous to be given one thing so particular in a extremely particular approach — for the group to return out and share it together with her is absolutely superb to her.” She emphasised the significance of being a job mannequin to Lilla and highlighted the importance of the tattoo of their tradition.

Fayant shared that her daughter had thought in regards to the tattoo for a number of years, and the markings made on her temples maintain particular meanings which might be expensive to her. Whereas the precise meanings might not be recognized to everybody, the significance of the tattoo is deeply private and vital.

In keeping with Fayant, tattoos maintain therapeutic properties and function a approach for Indigenous people to reclaim their our bodies and beliefs about magnificence. She believes that the method of getting tattoos, significantly conventional ones, generally is a therapeutic expertise for people who could also be coping with traumas.

Having grown up with out information of conventional tattooing, Fayant found the therapeutic energy of tattoos after dealing with tough conditions in her life. She attended an Indigenous cultural tattooing faculty known as Earthline Tattoo Collective in Halifax in 2019, the place she discovered extra in regards to the artwork kind.

Upon her return, Fayant gave herself a neck tattoo as a option to characterize her tradition and educate others. She aimed to heal historic rifts and alter societal attitudes in direction of tattoos, particularly face tattoos, which are sometimes stigmatized.

Fayant’s works are at present featured within the gallery’s exhibition titled If You Prick Me, Do I Not Bleed?, operating till March 30. The exhibition showcases the artistry and cultural significance of conventional Indigenous tattooing.

General, Stacey Fayant’s choice to provide her daughter Lilla a conventional Indigenous face tattoo represents a robust second of cultural revival and private empowerment. Via her artwork and activism, Fayant continues to problem stereotypes and promote higher understanding of Indigenous traditions.