Brazilian women wounded by burns and other physical trauma can now seek out relief from a tattoo artist on a mission to ink over the scars, transforming lingering reminders of pain with beautiful butterflies, flowers, and animals.
To apply for the no-charge tattoos, women must tell their story and send photos via the project’s website.
Over nearly 10 hours, Liliana Oliveira watched with awe as scars on her right arm disappeared, covered with purple butterflies and delicate flower petals.The combination picture shows Valeria Festa posing for a picture before and after being tattooed as part of the “We are Diamonds” project, which gives free tattoos to women with scars caused by domestic violence, accidents or medical reasons, in Sao Paulo, Brazil March 8, 2022. Picture taken March 8, 2022.
A traumatic car accident years ago left Valeria Festa with scars on her left leg, an always-present reminder of one of the worst moments in her life. “I often couldn’t even look and would ignore it because when you look at something like that it bothers you, it weighs on you because it doesn’t belong to you,” she said.For Mendes, the tattoo artist, the project satisfies her own desire to help.“It’s just knowing that I really meant something,” she said, “and was able to transform someone’s life for the better.”