There was a time period, says tattoo artist Carrie Metz-Caporusso, when all and sundry who sat in her chair expressed a desire for a tattoo on their back – but just once they’d lost some weight first. As someone who’s fat with multiple back and tummy tattoos that she loves, these caveats really bothered her. “My tattoos make me feel great about myself and I wanted others to feel that way too,” she says. “I believed if I could design something just for fat people, that highlighted the things society says is a flaw, possibly I could change some minds.” So she sat down and sketched until she got here up with an idea: roll flowers. 

The tattoo industry can often be a fairly toxic place. Historically dominated by white, cishet men, it’s seen many accusations of sexual assault, racism, and misogyny through the years. This homogenous nature has also created an environment rife with fatphobia, says Metz-Caporusso, who has been tattooing professionally since 2013. “It’s unimaginable to see fat tattooed bodies online. There’s zero designs which can be particularly for fat folks and most famous tattoo accounts only share thin, white bodies,” she says. “The shortage of representation is wild.”

This gulf in representation and subsequent lack of designs made to enrich bodies that aren’t thin or muscular have created a mindset where people feel invisible and unwelcome within the industry and unable to get tattooed until they appear a certain way. Metz-Caporusso’s roll flower tattoos combat this directly. Delicate and graceful, the intricate floral designs are custom-made to slot in and across the creases of body rolls, proudly highlighting and celebrating a facet of the body we’re so often taught to feel ashamed of.

After coming up with the initial concepts for the design, Metz-Caporusso posted an open call asking if anyone desired to get their rolls tattooed. The response was good (“about 10 people responded, I used to be so stoked”) but it surely was when she posted the primary tattooed back that things really began to explode. “People from in all places were sharing my art, it was amazing! After that I knew this was gonna be something that spoke to loads of people,” she says. “Many people have told me it makes them cry to see bodies like theirs represented. I’m just overwhelmed by the love and support folks have for me and this project.” 

To get a roll flower tattoo clients will need to have defined rolls which can be visible while standing. Each design is custom-made, with Metz-Caporusso using pictures of the client to map the shapes out onto the body and make sure that it suits. When she stencils on the design, precision is vital. “It takes a couple of shots to get all of the components to match the reference. If every bit doesn’t line up accurately the illusion of the crease making the stem doesn’t work,” she explains. The tattooing process can take anywhere from 4 to six hours.

For anyone whose tastes lie outside of floral designs, there are many other options as well. Earlier this yr, Metz-Caporusso did a chunk that incorporated the road of a roll right into a picturesque lake scene, and he or she recently posted an idea of lovely swirling waves emerging and flowing with the rolls. “The chances for fat roll tattoos are infinite. I plan on continuing to push myself and provide you with more concepts to have fun fat bodies and I encourage others to hitch me!” 

Ultimately, she hopes that the tattoos will send a message not only of body positivity but of body neutrality and, like so many others within the increasingly vocal movement, fat acceptance. “I hope when people see my work they realise that being fat isn’t bad, and even good for that matter. It just is. And also you don’t need to vary yourself to begin having fun with your life, just start living. You’ll be glad you probably did.”