The Nipple Artist: A video collaboration between The New York Times and POV showcases one woman’s search for nipples
The five-minute documentary tells the tale of writer Caitlin Kieran’s journey to a tattoo studio in Finksburg to have the illusion of real nipples tattooed on her body.
Tattoo artist Vinnie Myers has left behind his career in traditional tattooing and now specialises in nipple areola tattooing, which he has been doing for over ten years. Vinnie creates a three dimensional ‘normal’ looking nipple after women’s mastectomy or reconstructive surgery. He helps many women to reclaim their breasts, and love themselves again after their battle with cancer.
Surgeons also offer nipple tattoos during reconstructions but having seen these ‘round and red’ ‘pepperoni slices’, Caitlin decided to travel across America to have custom coloured subtly shaded nipples.
Watch the video here
‘I am so thrilled with the result. I feel great, I feel physically normal, I actually feel like my body looks better now than it did before. I know I’m never going to be the woman I was, but I feel like now I’m better.’
Caitlin quoted from The New York Times Blog and images from POV Blog