Organiser defends public display of body suspension
Published on: Sunday, December 17, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: The organisers of a recent Tattoo Expo at Centre Point that included the suspension of a man from hooks hung from a metal beam defended the performance as part and parcel of activities carried out in "tattoo society".Christopher Forsythe said it was part of body piercing and that these two aspects (tattoo and body piercing), go together."In tattoo society, other than getting ink to the skin, we also do body piercing like ear, nose, eyebrow, tongue or cheeks," he said, of the Nov. 18 event.
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It is to let the public experience and understand what the tattoo community is doing besides inking their skin."These things are normal and people get them (pierced) regardless of whether they are tattooed or not," he told Daily Express. He was responding to complaints received by the paper from the public some of whom were traumatised by what they saw. They said it was unsuitable for children and should not have been allowed in public by the authorities and Centre Point management.According to Christopher, the body suspension performance was carried out by a sub-culture from Jawa Tengah, Indonesia, who have been specialising in this the past 13 years.
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Christopher said a similar expo was organised in Miri, Sarawak, last year where he participated in a body suspension performance himself. He said preliminary inspections would be carried out on the performer, including the skin's elasticity, before the performance.He denied that those who volunteer to be suspended this way have to undergo a special ritual, take drugs or alcohol.
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"Alcohol will affect the body suspension activity as the performer will have higher tendency to bleed more," he said."Even during the Hindu Thaipusam celebration, it is done in public and it is considered not new to Malaysian culture. People are aware of this kind of thing."We do not force it on people, we just want them to see what goes on in tattoo society. If anyone says it is bad or unsuitable then what about Thaipusam?" he asked.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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