Working for over two months at the street cleaning company, I have noticed the popularity of tattoos among my colleagues. Some would extend to their necks, some covered arms and became visible on warmer days. Tattoos of my middle-aged friends differed from the studio artwork of those in their 20s: they were more bold, less metaphorical but they were both reminders of life events or portraits of the loved ones.

An old tattoo

This tattoo dates back to 1993. My friend Arnošt got it  while still living in Slovakia. After he had moved to Ostrava it became a bit outdated but he kept it. The tattoo was made  with a needle and ink which his friend scratched around his forearm.

Žaneta who inspired this tattoo still lives in Slovakia. He hasn’t seen for some 20 years.

Arnošt has several tattoos on his arms and chest, he is now considering another one to pay a tribute to his current wife.

Love and tattoo

Mario wanted to impress a girl he liked, so he tattooed the first letters of her name with a needle and ink when he was 15. It didn’t quite work so he bought her a rose. Then they kissed, later got married and now are expecting a baby girl.

A dragon tattoo

Robert and Nikolas  are part of a crew responsible for one of  Ostrava’s many neighbourhoods. Robert’s dragon tattoo was inspired by his Vietnamese friends. It’s about one year old and was made by a tattoo artists who is  a friend; he used green-blue colour.

Nikolas has several tattoos, the one on his forearm is  dedicated to his mother. “I pray for my mum, there is only one mother in the wide world over.”  Another tattoo is a reminder of Nikolas’ girlfriend birthday: handy!

Prayer beads tattoo

Vojta got his tattoo with praying hands and a cross about three years ago. He liked the image. “I’d like to get something really special but there aren’t that many options here… they are all very similar.”

I wanted to know if he was religious; he said he believed [in god] but didn’t go to church.

“How about you?”  Vojta turned the question to me.

“I don’t believe in god… or to be honest: I don’t really think about it.”

They both nodded: “Neither do I [think about it],” said Vojta