Hi,
Welcome,
If you identify as a Black Trinidadian, or have Black Trinidadian ancestry, this project is for you.
This portal is an offering for a free tattoo and an invitation to participate in a conversation about our connection to the land. The tattoo will be a framed landscape scene. Eight unique tattoo designs are being offered, each one varying slightly from the next, so that they can be animated like the leaf in the gif below. This tattoo can be placed in the center of your chest or the center of your back.
My name is Gesiye, I’m a multidisciplinary artist and I’ve been tattooing for the past four years, first at Bald Babes Ink, and more recently at Studio Lolia. You can see my tattoos here and learn more about my work on this website and around the internet. I think of this work as a portal to re-connection with self, with each other and with the land. I want us to have a conversation about the way that we relate to the earth. I want to create a space to share Black Trinidadian stories about this land. When finished, this project will exist as a series of tattoos, portrait photographs, an animated gif and a short film. If you’re interested in participating in this project you can fill out the form at the bottom of this page to let me know who you are.
Learn More
Participate
Fill out this form if you’re interested in participating and if you are 18 years old or older. This will be an inter-generational project - you’re never too old to get a tattoo! I'd like to know where you are based so that this portal can connect people from different parts of the island. We all live wildly different lives from each other and they are all valid and valuable parts of our connected story. We’ll be having conversations about the land, about your relationship to the earth and your family’s relationship to it as well. We’ll talk about history and plants and land ownership and together we’ll spend time exploring our connection to this island. Some of this will be documented and used to make a short film. If you’re open to that great, if not, that’s ok, it’s not necessary for participation in this project. Everyone who participates will be photographed with their tattoo.
Thank you so much for your interest in this Portal. The form for participants closed on November 11th, 2021.
You can read more about the work on this website and on my instagram @gesiye.