Faces of Galway 62/100
Meet Aine from Shannon.
When I first saw Aine I was instantly drawn to speak with her. The symmetrical cross of her facial piercings reminded me of the Southern Cross. They are part of what was originally a full face upside down cross. Her ear lobes are stretched to a 40 mm opening and the Sacred Heart tattoo is part of a large chest tattoo based around the Mexican Day of the Dead. Aine owns and runs, with her brother, A.W.O.L Tattoos and Piercings on Newtownsmith. She is a walking portfolio for her trade!
From an an early age Aine has been fascinated by both tattoos and religious imagery. As an atheist she doesn't believe in the religious reference behind images such as the Sacred Heart. However, Aine is fascinated by how people hold these images in such high regard. Incorporating religious imagery into her body art is not to show her dedication to religion but more towards a life-time passion of trying to understand how certain images become so iconic in different religions. With these images a sense of worship comes and Aine finds it to be a slight paradox with the notion of not worshipping false Gods. These images, like the skull in the Day of the Dead, are created by a religious society for worship. Aine likes to question who is to say which are false and which, if any, are true.
Aine got got her first tattoo at the age of 17; it was a small Celtic piece which was done badly and now looks like a purple bruise! Since then her tattoo collection has grown to cover most of her body and she will keep going until the only space left is her face. Aine would never tattoo her face as she feels that would interfere with her identity. She has never received any negative remarks about her tattoos and piercings, on the contrary she finds new clients all the time as people ask her where she got them done.
Aine started her training in Bodyshock, Dublin, with Paddy O Donohoe one of Ireland's first professional piercers. She has since worked, both in Ireland and abroad, with 5 different studios and now works three days a week in A.W.O.L. Aine has a very calm demeanour and is a walking example of her skill and creativity. So if you are thinking about a new tattoo or piercing why don't you pop into Aine and have a chat.