Semioticians analyze symbols, so for this series, we’ve asked 25 of our semio colleagues from around the world to explicate the symbolism of… one of their own tattoos.

I got this tattoo on my right forearm when I was 20. It’s been 8 years since. The line art is a replica of “Close” by French illustrator and minimal artist ‘quibe’. To me, it looked like a man’s face turned left, his profile framing the smaller face of a woman within it. To many others who have since come across it, it reads as two faces (or two sides) of the same person.

But, back then, neither of these interpretations felt like the reason why I got this tattoo. 

Powered daily by small talk with office friends, long conversations with my parents, and quick, pleasant greetings to acquaintances passing by, I found pockets of meaning in my interactions with people. These were my favourite thing. They decided the flavour of the day and held the power to completely transform my headspace. That’s what I wanted to commemorate: the way our lives intersect with the people around us, and the charge that sparks from that intersection to shape how we perceive everything that comes after. 

That might sound cheesy. Especially coming from someone who practises this belief only half the time. If I am spoken to right after waking up, before I’ve got some food in — I bite. If I like exchanging pleasantries with the cab driver and complaining about the traffic together, I also value the comfort of a podcast in my ears for most of the drive as I observe the sights outside. I may draw energy from people but I also like to leave my hand resting near the toggle button that lets me opt out. 

It took me some time to realise this about myself. And, as it turns out, this realisation loops back to the interpretation others saw in the tattoo before I did. Aside from representing my love for the everyday beauty of our intersecting lives, the tattoo also represents a contradiction within me. Two sides of the same person. 

It’s strange how it knew before I did.

TATTOO YOU: Nicola Zengiaro (Italy) on CORAL OF LIFE | Su Luo (Taiwan) on AN ISLAND, A TREE | Thierry Mortier (Sweden) on LIJFSPREUKEN | Cristina Voto (Italy) on JELLYFISH | Charles Leech (Canada) on SURF WAVES | Mariane Cara (Brazil) on BECOMING’S TRIAD | Chris Martin (Canada) on PUNK ROCK HEART | Angie Meltsner (USA) on ENJOY EVERY SANDWICH | Samuel Grange (France) on POLYMORPHOUS | Inka Crosswaite (Germany) on LAYERED FRAGMENT | Al Deakin (England) on FAMILY STAR | Hibato Ben Ahmed (France) on HENNA HAND | Max Matus (Mexico) on KALINGA REDOX | Whitney Dunlap Fowler (USA) on IN THE UNTETHERED | Chirag Mediratta (India) on THE SONG OF THE BUTTERFLY | Alexandra Ncube (England) on LIMINAL ROOTS | Josh Glenn (USA) on FALLING ANGEL | Aarushi Chadha (India) on PART-TIME PEOPLE PERSON | Serdar Paktin (Turkey/UK) on RESISTANCE & SURRENDER | Tatiana Jaramillo (Colombia/Italy) on EMBERÁ BLACKOUT | Antje Weißenborn (Germany) on FADED STAR | Sundari Sheldon (USA) on SUN | Roberta Graham (England) on SUNFLOWER/GUNMETAL.

Also see these global semio series: MAKING SENSE (Q&As) | SEMIOFEST SESSIONS (monthly mini-conferences) | COVID CODES | SEMIO OBJECTS | COLOR CODEX | DECODER (fictional semioticians) | CASE FILE | PHOTO OP | MEDIA DIET | TATTOO YOU (semioticians’ tattoos).