Meme tattoos and the rise of post-ironic body art

“Yeah sex is great but Fortnite” – a funny meme, maybe, but would you have it permanently inked on your skin? For some, the answer is a resounding yes. Because, despite being raised on Kim Kardashian’s forewarning words, ‘you wouldn’t put a bumper sticker on a Bentley’, Gen Z are one of the most inked generations. And unlike the earnest and symbolic designs favoured by Millennials – infinity signs, plant pots, love hearts etc – they are taking a more ironic approach to their ink, with tattoos that look like memes lifted straight off your Instagram grid.

The brainchild of brain rot, ironic tattoos resemble the relics of 2009 memes and shitposting spiel you’d find on inactive Reddit threads. Think: upside down Nike swooshes on forearms, “Berlinciaga” on backs, and Hello Kitties wielding machine guns. They’re birthed from a chronically digital upbringing that has landed Gen Z with a meta-ironic internet persona and an absurdist, self-referential style of humour. One that’s been slowly making its way out of our feeds and into the streets, first through fashion and now onto our skin.

LA-based tattoo artist, Tyler Fertig-Smith was raised on the internet. He lists his inspirations as meme culture, films, Mid-Western mom decor and Y2K older brother nostalgia. “Irony is my best friend at the moment,” he tells Dazed. With a portfolio of designs that include a Mr Worldwide Pitbull chest piece, the word ‘ketamine’ over top of a silhouette of a horse, and a fillet minion, he says he always tries to push the boundaries. “Hopefully I can stir a visceral reaction in my audience whether good or cringe.”

Public reactions to these ironic ink are vast, varied and, indeed, always strong. “When I meet people on the street or in my studio it’s usually always love, we laugh. Most of the time they show me a funny tattoo they have hidden on the thigh or upper arm,” says Fertig-Smith. Online, however, responses can be more polarised, with comment sections hosting rage-induced outcries and disgust wedged between booking requests and adoration.

The negative feedback is, if anything, pushing the designs to be more extreme, however. Amongst the community of tattooers who participate in this style, the internet echo chamber of irony drives competition, with each tattoo endeavouring to be crazier than the last. “The algorithm very much favours shock value,” says Nikolaj, a tattoo artist based in Denmark whose designs range from a delicate kitten neck piece to a Vetements ass tattoo. For his viral Berlinciaga back tattoo, he says he chose an unappealing colour and intentionally did the lines horribly “to piss off people.” “I also think seeing all this crazy shit online kinda desensitises us to more crazy shit,” he adds.

But it’s not just that we’ve become desensitised to these designs. Post-ironic tattoos represent a sense of disillusionment and pessimism amongst young people. “If I want a care bear tattoo on my leg, what’s stopping me? Society? We’re all screwed anyway, have you seen the housing market?” says Fertig-Smith. His mindset reflects a wider inherent nihilism that plagues a generation who came of age in a recession, a pandemic and the throes of political turmoil. This coupled with the chronically online upbringing has left a generation with a more lax attitude towards body modification. Perceptions of their bodies have developed in online environments where self-expression is celebrated not demonised and as a result, individuals may see their body art as a reflection of their evolving identities rather than a fixed representation.

Ironic tattoos often hold little meaning. “I don’t plan my tattoos almost at all, I like to walk into the shop with the littlest plan possible and just go with the vibe,” says Logan from Michigan. Though his ink, which includes Dr Phil as an M&M on his arm and a cat with a wizard hat, is mostly entirely devoid of meaning, he is certain that he won’t regret them. As is Fertig-Smith who gets asked “all the time” whether he thinks he will at some point regret tattoos like the Fortnite logo he has tattooed on one side of his head, the INCEL (internet celebrity) tattoo on the other, and a 12” Rodrick from Diary of a Wimpy Kid on his forearm. “No, but I’m sure as I get older and my art changes my tattoos will as well and I’ll just blast over it with something else to continue expressing myself,” he says.

But just because some tattoos might look post-ironic and meaningless from the outside, doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t hold some sentimentality. While Logan’s back piece of a horse with the words, “Live like someone left the gate open,” might seem like the typical ironic meme tattoo, there’s a small element of earnest emotion. “I came across a photo of my girlfriend’s mother from about 15 years ago who actually was wearing a shirt that had this exact saying, ‘Live like someone left the gate open’ on it and in memory of her and the hilarity of it I decided to get it.”