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.

My tattoo is a small, uneven star above my left ankle — self-made at the age of 15. I am not particularly proud of the result, but the experience of getting tattooed holds strong emotional significance for me. Together with three friends, we sat in the bathroom and tattooed stars on each other using a homemade needle construction: two needles tied together with a thread on a cork, which we repeatedly dipped into an inkpot.

I remember the tingling, excited feeling of doing something secretive and irreversible. The procedure took a long time and hurt, but we felt like a close-knit community, like a tribe marking our hopefully everlasting friendship with a tattoo.

In the 1980s, tattoos were not as common as today. They were seen as alternative, punk, and somewhat antisocial, prison-like. Simply removing a tattoo via a laser was not an option, then; it had to be cut out of skin if no longer wanted. Thus, we also felt cool and daring. The spot on my ankle reflected my hesitation — it could be easily hidden, especially if it turned out badly (and it did).

Why a star? We hardly thought about its meaning back then. The star was easy to tattoo with our simple technique and looked decorative. I liked stars and doodled them on many of my drawings, they were both anarchistic and beautiful.

Since then, I have learned about the symbolism of stars: freedom, hope, the fulfillment of dreams, and constancy — values that perfectly match my adolescence. That’s why I’ve never had this crooked star covered up with a nicer tattoo.  This small mark connects my younger self with today, and reminds me of my dreams… and of my friends, one of whom I’ve remained close with for over 40 years now.

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).