Seeing Stars

Belgian teenager, Kimberley Vlaeminck, is in the news today after having a tattoo featuring 56 stars... on her face! The eighteen year old claims that she requested just three stars and fell asleep during the process, only to wake up when the tattooist had moved onto one of the stars on her nose. According to The Sun Online, the tattoo artist, Rouslan Toumaniantz, has defended his work, stating that Kimberley was awake throughout and checked his progress several times. It seems that there was only an issue when Kimberley's Dad found out. Kimberley claims that she is now so ashamed of her appearance that she can't bring herself to look in the mirror and is suing that tattooist for compensation to cover the cost of laser treatment to remove the stars.

When I heard about this story on Sky News this morning a few thoughts occurred. Firstly, while I understand her desire to get a tattoo, I'm not sure why she would have one on her face. I assume that at the age of eighteen it's down to youthful exuberance and a lack of foresight of how this might impact on her future potential. Like it or not, people make judgements based on appearance. Having a tattoo on your face is a very strong and essentially permanent statement that many people will judge negatively. Indeed, many employers ask that tattoos be hidden from sight: an impossibility for Kimberley. Basically, this was a daft thing to do, whether it was three stars or 56!

I'm also not convinced about the truth of her story, although I'm very open to being proven wrong. If Kimberley is telling the truth, I wonder what motive the tattooist had for doing it. He must've known that his reputation, and consequently his business, would be at risk, so why would he continue without her consent. For the sake of art? I understand that there are many tattooists that consider themselves artists using the human body as their canvas. However, I find it unlikely in this case as the tattoo is relatively plain. Also, Kimberley's reaction doesn't quite add up: if you were the victim of such an action, how would you react? I doubt you would happily leave the shop and go home quietly! My reaction would have been to call my parents there and then... maybe even get the police involved. A far more likely scenario is that Kimberley entered into this lunacy voluntarily and then told a porky pie to deflect her Dad's anger. If that's true, I hope she comes forward before Mr Toumaniantz's business is irreparably damaged: costing someone their livelihood so that you can avoid punishment is mean and immoral.

However, as I said, I am open to the possibility that Kimberley is being truthful and I hope that I'm able to keep track of the case as it develops. The most interesting aspect of this story will be how it comes to be resolved. I wonder what a court will make of it? In the meantime I'm sure there will be some further debate on tattoos in general as increasing numbers of people - including women - have a procedure that some people believe is a disfigurement. Personally I think Kimberley's tattoo looks really cool - but I would never in a million years have had it done myself and believe that if she did want something so extreme she should have thought long and hard about it!

Photo credit: thesun.co.uk