There are many spots on the body where a tattoo would normally be invisible in everyday life, covered up with clothing. And then there're some spots that go even beyond that.
To see Lucas' tattoo, he has to put his head all the way back and open his mouth wide. Then, on the roof of his mouth, a tattoo of the infamous pile of poo emoji, though without the eyes, becomes visible.
Lucas is certainly no stranger to tattoos – he is covered in them. But he freely admits that he never would have thought to tattoo his palate. He selflessly gave this patch of skin to his best friend, Belgian tattoo artist Indy Voet, to practise his techniques on.
The 32-year-old Voet is known for his tattoos even in the usual places, but his specialty are ear and genital tattoos, as well as the above-mentioned palate ones.
Palate tattoos get a lot of attention, he explains,"because there are fewer people who do them" and now it has become "his thing."
It's a "thing" that's grabbed attention around the world. After a Twitter user in India shared two images of his work, the entire Internet weighed in with "Why would you do that?" or "That's crazy."
"I understand that it's a weird spot that many people can't get their heads around," says Voet. But speaking as a former piercer, he finds it looks "more fantastic and painful and strange than it really is."
He recalls how he himself had seen an image of a palate tattoo as a teenager, though it didn't particularly stick with him.
A few years ago, he suggested trying it on a friend. It was a low-stakes offer. Few people, besides the friend's dentist, would see it if he failed.
Voet uses mainly the handpoke technique to tattoo the palate, meaning he pricks the skin by hand instead of using a machine. "I do that so that I don't injure anyone or cut into the palate," he explains.
Also, it's a spot that's hard to reach with a typical tattoo gun.
With the hand, he can better control the pressure. While his customer sits in the chair to get inked – which ironically doesn't look all that different from a dentist's chair – he does finger exercises.
But the Belgian has not only a gifted hand, he also has a strong sense for the trendy. After several successful test runs on his friends, the first customers started asking for similar tattoos.
Meanwhile, the curious can admire more than 20 such small works on Voet's Instagram account. He says he's tattooed far, far more.
"It's not the most common tattoo, but I do get the question regularly," he says, especially from people who don't want visible tattoos, or are heavily tattooed and the palate is one of their last uninked spaces.
He doesn't understand the question when asked why people would get a tattoo no one can see; it's for yourself, he says.
Anyone interested in such a tattoo but can't make it to Belgium might find it hard to find someone who can do it for them – it's definitely not widespread, according to an association of German tattoo artists.
"Some people think that you're especially crazy to want to tattoo the palate," says Voet, but "I work, I go home and I do what everyone else does – walk the dog, cook." Or meet with his best friend Lucas.
The pile of poo tattoo on Lucas' palate? It was Voet's idea.
"He said, 'Look, why not? It's a little silly'... well, I said yeah," recalls Lucas. These days, he says, he barely even thinks about it. "In general, I just don't see it," he chuckles.
That said, he does remember one thing: the pain. "It wasn't especially pleasant," he says. Luckily it didn't take longer than a half-hour for Voet to leave his little mark in his friend's mouth. – dpa
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