Last night I was back at Immortal Art Studio for another tattoo session. The subject was the enigmatic Wallcreeper. The tattoo was done to the usual high standard via the genius skills of Richard Batey. I went home very pleased with the addition to my sleeve, remarking that I only had three birds left!
To find out why I am doing this and to donate (remember I am paying for ALL the tattoos myself so ALL donations got to help protect Turkey’s threatened biodiversity), please visit: http://www.justgiving.com/givingmyrightarm
The videos clip below (courtesy of Immortal Art Studio) show all my tattoo work so far.
I am very good at self depreciation; and despite a lot of positive things happening in my life currently, some times I can feel a little despondent. This morning was one of those times. I was sat at home looking at my tattoos and suffering the discomfort of yesterdays tattoo. Although I love my tattoos, I was questioning whether what I was doing was worth the effort. I know that I always have the support of Doğa Derneği; but with difficulty in language it is sometimes difficult to push things forward.
Thankfully my uncertainty was short lived. Erdem Çetrez (one of my Turkish friends on Facebook) informed me of the newly formed Organisation ‘DAMOCRACY’ The following text describes what DEMOCRACY is all about:
“Damocracy” is an international movement striving to debunk the myth of dams as clean energy. While large dam projects worldwide are promoted as sources ofrenewable energy, in reality they cause irreversible damage to nature, people and cultures around the world.
Ilisu Dam in Turkey and the Belo Monte Dam in Brazil are perfect examples of the destruction caused in the Amazon basin (lungs of the earth) and Mesopotamia (cradle of civilisation) through monster dam projects.
The negative impacts of dams are not limited to wildlife as these large dams destroy cultural sites and homes of tens of thousands of communities. The indigenous communities that will be affected by the Belo Monte dam are certainly subject to one of the biggest human rights conflicts on earth. Similarly,Ilisu Dam poses a major threat to the people living on the Tigris River from South East Turkey to the marshes of Basra in Iraq. It will also inundate the at least 10.000 year-old town of Hasankeyf which is the only place on earth that meets nine out of 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites’ criteria.
Doga Dernegi (BirdLife in Turkey), Amazon Watch, International Rivers, RiverWatch, Gota D’água (Drop of Water) Movement, Instituto Socioambiental (ISA) and Movimento Xingu Vivo para Sempre (MXVPS) have formed the “Damocracy” movement on destructive dams, which is open for other groupsworking for the same purpose of debunking the myth of dams as clean energy.
You can visit this new website here:
And I would urge any organisations to sign up to support this movement:
http://damocracy.org/?page_id=938
This movement highlights the very reason why I decided to have my body covered in tattoos! I love the philosophy and ethics of Doğa Derneği that is evident in this collaboration. Working to protect wildlife and peoples livelihoods within the same project is vital to the life of our planet.
THIS IS WHY I AM GETTING TATTOOED AND THIS IS WHY I SUPPORT DOĞA DERNEĞI WITH EVERY OUNCE OF MY SOUL!
