At A Glance Author Vicky Contact Vicky@bme.anon IAM vselliott When Two years ago Artist Donal Studio Belfast City Skinworks Location UK During the summer of 2000 I discovered BME while helping a male friend search for a genital piercing. I had now found a new and exciting way to express myself through my body.
Prior to this I had no modifications whatsoever. My parents were kind enough not to pierce my ear lobes when I was younger, although they encouraged me to be myself, I did not see ear piercing as something particularly individual. I thought about getting pierced after school had finished for the summer, then I would have plenty of time for it to heal and also be able to take it out for school. My school has a 'one piercing per ear lobe' policy. But, as usual, I left it too late.
I finally decided in August that I should really get a move on and decide on what I wanted. At this time there were two main places where I could get a piercing in Belfast. One was the Otherside and the other was Belfast City Skinworks (Skulls). I went with the latter because although it is primarily a tattoo parlour, they have a good reputation and I couldn't see them doing a bad job.
I was in town just doing a bit of shopping and walking about with a friend when I finally decided just to go for it, which of course she didn't believe. I thought I would prove her wrong by doing it there and then. I was going to get my nose pierced. I went straight to Skull's to enquire about prices, age requirements, and jewellery. I had butterflies in my stomach as I asked the questions I wanted answered. I found that it would cost 15 pounds, that I would need parental consent as I was 16 at the time, and that they used a nose stud (not a screw). I was pleased with their answers and proceeded to try to find one of my parents. I knew that if I didn't get it then that it might have been months before the chance came again.
I rang my mum who was luckily in town and dragged her round to Skull's. On the way I explained what type of shop it was, what I was getting done, and that it would not lead to the ruin of my life. My mum signed the forms while I read their terms of agreement, which I also signed. One bad thing is that the person I said was 'mum' could have been anyone, as a 16 year old I did not have any ID to prove my identity, so hers did not really matter if I could also be anyone.
Anyway, we were told to have a seat and they would see me as soon as possible. During this time I looked at the tattoo flash on the walls and the artists portfolios, and at this studio they also have a tattoo museum of some kind – which I should really visit. I am a very calm person, so I was not nervous at all once there was no way of backing out. Finally the guy (could have been Donal) who was going to eventually pierce me came down and said those words: 'You're next'. I adventurously climbed the stairs, knowing that I was going to get pierced. I should probably say that I have had a thing about needles for my whole life. You may be thinking that I maybe hate needles, but no, I love the feeling of something piercing my skin. It is a liberating feeling which makes me tingle when I even think about it.
I entered a small room that had a medical bed and a dental chair, most importantly it looked clean. I was asked how I was feeling, if I had had something to eat, and was also told about autoclaving. The guy put on gloves, but then it turned out that he was not going to be piercing me. I think an apprentice was chosen to pierce me but I am not too sure as I was uninformed of this, this is really something I would have liked to know about. Both of the piercers now had gloves on, my nose was cleaned and marked. The positioning was fine by me and I gave the go-ahead. I thought it would be good to watch but I closed my eyes as they told me and I could feel the clamp on my nose, just as she was about to pierce me, the guy said: 'no not like that!' Now that was really the last thing I wanted to hear, this sent my heart racing and I thought I was going to end up with a botched job. The guy took over and I was the new recipient of a nose piercing.
I was shown my nose in the mirror and I was extremely pleased with the outcome. After a few seconds I felt the sensation of something flowing on my upper lip, this turned out to be blood. The staff were right on time with the tissues and the bleeding stopped with seconds. I was feeling the buzz of the piercing, but also getting a bit nauseas. I went as white as a sheet which was also picked up on straight away. I was given a cup of water and told to sit where I was until I felt up to leaving. Then I went downstairs to show my mum and friend the new addition to my face. They both complimented me and I was then told the aftercare regime by another member of staff. I was told the length of time to keep the stud in for which I think was around 6 weeks. I bought saline solution from the shop and then headed to the chemists for some cotton buds.
I noticed people looking at my nose straight away, especially the older generations. Maybe I was just paranoid but I was certain people were thinking differently. This also gave me a pleased feeling. I liked the way they thought they could judge me just because I had my nose pierced, or maybe they just thought it looked good. A slight throbbing came next and I decided to go home. I tried to clean off the remaining blood around the inside of my nostril and figure out how I was going to clean it and also how to remember while washing my face that I should probably keep face cloths away from it.
Everything was fine until I went back to school and was told to remove it; I told them that this was impossible due to infection. I managed to keep it in for a while until I was faced with 'serious trouble'. So now I had to see how to take the piercing out, and also replace it when I had the time. At first I found it very difficult to replace the stud, but after a week or so I could do it without a mirror.
The healing period went without any glitches apart from having to remove the piercing for shorts periods of time, I did not feel any swelling and there was next to no redness in the area. I went out with my friends soon after I got the piercing and surprisingly hardly any of them noticed, I even had to point it out to a few.
It is now March of 2002 and 19 months since I got my nostril pierced. I can now leave my stud out for long periods of time without the hole closing over. I have had a lot of positive reaction from this piercing and had turned other people on to the idea of modifying their body. Something as simple as a nose piercing can become a part of someone. Since getting pierced I think I had thought more about myself as a person using my body as I want, and not of my body as just a shell that is there to encase my mind. Creativity can be used on your body, which seems like the perfect canvas. I get to know people more now and absolutely hate it when people judge other people on how they look. Keeping an open mind is needed through life and this gave me the insight I needed.