Almost everyone seems to have ink of some kind these days.
But where would you draw the line when it comes to places you’d have a tattoo? Your eyeballs? Your tongue? Your fingernails? Around your anus?
Lily Lu, who is non-binary, has tattooed them all and then some, having inked every single part of their body and face.
They started having tattoos aged 14 and later became a tattoo artist, inking their own body as well as teaching others to create body art.
Lily Lu, from Germany, has spent endless hours in the tattoo chair, which has resulted in two and a half tattoo body suits, multiple layers of ink and scarifications.
They are also a fan of body modification, and have even had fingers, nipples and parts of their ears amputated to complement the dramatic aesthetic.
Red dreadlocks, grown for 15 years, and black ceramic teeth complete Lily Lu’s unique look.
Among their more unusual tats are the ones in their ears and on their uvula, ‘even places you can’t see like the entire inside of my mouth,’ Lily Lu told Jam Press.
What’s more, the 33-year-old designed all body art themselves.
Thanks to their extensive work, Lily Lu is quite the expert and warns you may want to think twice before getting tats on certain body parts.
Apparently tattoos on the feet, hands, face, ears and around the anus are the most painful of all, although eye tattoos were hardly a blink and you’ll miss it procedure.
Lily Lu, who was one of the first 20 people in the world to have these inked, said: “It’s a big step for the mind and a big challenge for yourself.”
Their most controversial tattoos, however, are the large swastikas on their back – and one of the artist’s nicknames is Little Swastika.
It is ‘deeply sad’ that a dictatorial regime appropriated the symbol, their website explains, detailing its history outside of Nazi Germany.
‘You should not take every swastika you see to be a Nazi symbol,’ Lily Lu writes, insisting the sign is ‘something positive, peaceful and beautiful,’ which signifies luck.
‘Fight against racism – the hate of stupid idiots, but not against a sign – because it’s innocent,’ they say.
The film maker and artist’s first tattoo was a small sword on the calf, self-inked, and other artwork includes a spider on the nape and many slogans including ‘feel free’ on the knuckles.
‘Tattooing is deeply rooted in me – there isn’t a day where I´m not thinking about it,’ Lily Lu says.
‘You might call it an addiction – but then, addictions are all about not being able to let go, and I’m all about not wanting to let go as far as tattoos are concerned.’
Staying true to oneself has clearly paid off in terms of love for Lily Lu, who has a wife and daughter.
Lily Lu lives with model @annuschkatz who, with her striking looks and dramatic body art, has more than 36,000 followers on Instagram.
The pair have a polyamorous relationship, without traditional roles or limitations, which offers Lily Lu ‘more love and trust’ than they have experienced before.
Lily Lu’s colourful work includes tattoo art, which can sometimes cover several people’s backs to create a whole piece, photography and film-making, which all began as a hobby but which has been a passion for nearly 20 years.
Also known for adult art films, Lily Lu isn’t afraid to push boundaries and describes a recent movie as ‘horror with sex, including body modifications and psychedelics’.
‘It’s pretty hardcore,’ the artist admits, although his next work will be a complete change of pace, a sweet short film about the father-daughter relationship.
When not creating films or tats, Lily Lu enjoys the alternative lifestyle, which includes body suspensions, in which people are hung from hooks through their skin, living out of a van, Japanese bondage, porn production and travelling – all covered on their YouTube channel.
The nonconformist said: ‘I live as free as I can within the borders of society.’
They added: ‘I just have fun and live my life the fullest I can. I have lived every dream I ever had like 100 times. The moment I didn’t let society hold me back life become the greatest and fullest I ever experienced.’
Lily Lu hopes the YouTube channel, in which other people living alternative lives are interviewed, will broaden people’s minds. They said: ‘I am not a freak and I don’t feel like one.’
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