Body modification fan Heidi Zitna, 44, has spent nearly 25 years as a professional tattoo artist and has now decided to transform herself into what she calls a ‘living art project’
An extreme body modification fan – who ‘looks like a jumbled Christmas tree’ after inking her eyeballs and implanting skulls into her hands – revealed the ‘brutal’ reaction she gets from strangers.
Heidi Zitna has been working in the tattooing industry for almost 25 years. The 44 year old received her own first tattoo at 18, despite having no initial fascination with body modification.
Since that moment, she’s invested thousands transforming herself into what she describes as a ‘living art project’.
“Over time, I started to look like a Christmas tree – everything was covered in piercings, a wild jumble, the main thing was that there were lots and lots of them,” Heidi, from Munich, Germany, told What’s The Jam.
“Later, it became too disharmonious for me, so I removed a lot of them and then concentrated on creating an orderly picture. More quality than quantity!”
Among Heidi’s most radical modifications is a skull implant beneath the skin on the back of her hand – a procedure she carried out herself.
She’s also tattooed much of her own body and reckons she’s invested approximately £17,500 (€20,000) in total thanks to discounts from fellow artists.
Heidi said: “Since I work in the industry, I get a lot of things for free or very cheap from colleagues.
“I wanted to turn the whole thing into an art project – I am the canvas for it.”
Her elaborate bodywork blends tattoos, piercings, subdermal implants and cuttings, all crafted to create what she characterises as a complete, harmonious image.
One of her most daring decisions was to tattoo the whites of her eyes, a perilous procedure that involves injecting ink between layers of the eyeball – a process that can lead to infection or even blindness.
Heidi describes her full-body artwork as one continuous piece, likening it to a “marionette doll wearing a swimsuit and stockings”.
She shared: “Generally, people are interested, as they rarely see such a complete concept.
“Most are fascinated by the tattooed eyes and the implants.
“Of course, every now and then, some people gasp and shake their heads at the sight of me. It’s not for everyone.”
For the time being, Heidi is still on her journey to complete her transformation, with only a few hard-to-reach areas – like the backs of her thighs and her behind – left to be tattooed by other artists.
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