Nick's Tattoo Explores the Duality of Self

The past week has been a fresh reminder of how wonderful inkspotting is in New York City. When we have warm weather, that is.

Today's contribution comes from Nick, who I spotted earlier this week inside the front entrance of a large chain coffee establishment.

Nick has "eleven or twelve" tattoos, so we went with this one, on the inside of his forearm:


This conceptual piece reflects, in Nick's words, "[Carl] Jung's theory of the duality of self".

This is depicted as the mythological figure Narcissus (at top) staring at his mirror image. However, in a spin on the myth, Narcissus is transfixed not by his beauty, but by the conceptualized vision of the inner self, which appears demonic.

This can be interpreted and discussed in many ways, which is one aspect of what makes this tattoo so interesting.

Nick had this piece done at Craig's Tattoo Studio in St. Louis, Missouri.

Thanks again to Nick for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!