My second lip sewing happened more by coincidence rather than by personal choice.
At A Glance Author bizarroboy/ferg Contact bizarroboy@graffiti.net IAM bizarroboy When A month ago Artist Vivianne Studio Tokyo hotel room Location Japan I was standing there in front of a group of mainly Japanese people, not wanting to say a word, in fact not able to speak at all – my lips sewn tightly shut but a young Canadian nurse, expert in the art of Japanese rope bondage and dressed head to toe in latex – when I was turned to the left side of the stage to enable the collection of photographers there to get snap-happy with the nimble fingers. One of them was a Dutch photographer called Hans Neleman.
I kneeled down on the stage, hands behind my back and watched as Lukas appeared and completed the rest of our performance by 'punishing' Viv for sewing my lips shut with a, what looked like, quite severe double leg cutting.
Much blood flowed. Then we all walked solemnly out through the crowd, up the stairs and into the little room for club guests. After some more photos in the room and the removal of the sutures I went up to the bar on the upper floor, met some friends from BME and treated myself with a cold beer in a warm plastic cup. As I wandered around the crowded bar area Hans stopped me and wanted to ask a few questions. He produced a recent book of his work for me to peruse while I answered his queries. Flicking through the book I saw many familiar faces and exclaimed in excitement that I knew these dear people as good friends. Everyone was happy. Hans asked me about my 8 forearm brands and their significance to me. He was also extremely interested in the lip sewing performance, "never having seen anything like it before". His enthusiasm and desire to uncover more was refreshing and when he asked me to do a photo shoot with him the next day, I jumped at the opportunity.
The next day started late and unprepared. Rising from slumber times varied immensely. I needed a shower as the humid Tokyo weather was already plying its trade well. I had slept in Lukas's hotel room again (thank you Sir) and I was itching to do something however people started appearing spontaneously and soon the mood was one of excitement again. More work to be done (the man never stops I tell you!) and after a quick check with Hans and his assistant that the photo shoot was still on, Viv and I readied ourselves for the second lip sewing. After doing such a fine job the night before it was easy to give her carte blanche again. With the mistakes in choosing needle size remedied she prepared the area and pulled over a chair.
Lukas was already busy working away on some beautiful back piece when I sat down on the chair next to them. Viv put on her surgical gloves, cleaned my mouth and opened the new suture pack. She had chosen a much thicker needle this time to ensure that the piercing of my lip would be a smoother affair for both of us. It was curved and about 4 or 5 cm long. It shone in the sunlight as she freed it from the plastic packing and held it against my skin. I could feel the sharp end pressing down on me. The previous night we had only done 4 holes, criss-crossing the sutures to imprison my speech capabilities. I had originally wanted her to do 8 holes, 4 along the top and 4 along the bottom, resulting in 2 small crosses of sutures as opposed to 1 big one. It wasn't all that important to be honest but with the way the show went it was probably better to be content with the four. I don't think the needle would have lasted much monger if we had attempted 8 holes the night before anyway.
This time I wanted 8 and boy did I get it.
My lips were a little bit tender and there were a few small bruises from the entry and exit points but nothing to be worried about. I assumed that, as this needle was thicker that the piercing would feel the same but just without the forced trembling trying to push it through. I was wrong. Viv counted to 3 and pierced me at the corner of my top lip on the right side. Yes it went through quicker but it hurt a lot more. Not really hurt as such but it was more uncomfortable than the previous night's work. I felt my face grimace as the 2nd and 3rd holes were done. My mouth was bleeding a lot more and I was sweating a lot more. It was difficult to keep still as the needle made its way from air to air, cutting right through my lip on the way. After the 4th, I asked her to stop for a rest. I was sore, tender and blood red and only halfway.
Rest we did but Viv was keen for me to continue, "the sooner we start the sooner we finish" she said and just for a moment I was catapulted back in time to my early school days, when lying petrified on a big, black, leather chair, pliers in hand and clinical look on her face, my dentist uttered those very same words. From that day and the horrific excuse for tooth-pulling that followed (half the tooth snapped off, major gum bleeding, pulling and squirming and pain and sweat; too much oral distress for such a young boy to take in my opinion) I have always dreaded hearing those words.
Fortunately for me this time was much different. Viv expertly finished the remaining 4 holes, tied up the loose ends (so to speak) and off I went to Hans's room along the corridor.
Hans, assistant, me, lights and cameras all sneaked up to the roof of the hotel and searched for the perfect spot to capture the moment on film. Lukas kept working.
The hotel roof was on the 10th floor so as we stood there, the surrounding buildings dwarfed us. Tokyo is immense and I think you really have to go there to fully experience the population density aspect of it. I've been to many big cities around the world with many more people in them than populates my home country of Scotland (a measly 4.5 million) but Tokyo always strikes me as the most cramped. I'm more of an outdoor, mountain kind of guy but as the sun began it's downward arch first behind the rooftops of other, higher places then behind the horizon I got that calming feeling again. Almost like some part of the atmosphere is enveloping you in goodwill and reassuring you that no matter what happens, things will be all right. Very maternal. I think being completely naked helped.
Hans took photographs for 2 hours. I stood in various positions on the roof for 2 hours. I had to resort to visual communication obviously since my mouth was sewn shut but this is usually no problem. Every time I move to a foreign country where I know no one and don't speak the language, 'signing' comes in very handy. I'm a past master of the art.
I really wished I could have kept my lips like that for much longer than the couple of hours required for the photos. My hatred of meaningless small talk means that I don't spend a lot of time talking to people. Sometimes my silence is interpreted as rudeness when I choose not to converse with people. At least with my lips tied together I would have a more socially acceptable and valid excuse for not involving myself with such audio rubbish.