Having researched images of real female bodies for artistic reference I was well aware of how underrepresented they are. It has always bothered me that older women’s bodies are maligned, which is part of the reason the concept of this project appealed to me.

In the time between agreeing to take part and it actually happening my internal dialog about what I was about to do wildly oscillated between insecurity and confidence. However as the as the shoot approached I was surprised at my lack of trepidation.

We decide to play the shoot by ear, to see what images we captured.

I have a prominent scar on stomach, which I seldom expose, mainly because it’s the result of paediatric surgery and I have never known life without it. For me its just part of my body, not something that defines me. The idea of capturing the tattoos on my back was of more interest to me.

The tattoos I have are scars I have chosen for my body, not those that have been inflicted on me without my consent. As such I feel they are far more representative of me than my stomach scaring or the other smaller scars I have.

The majority of my tattoos are taken from my own illustrations, and as such act as a living gallery. They all have their own individual symbolism.

The sunflower on my left arm represents flowers my mother grew in our back garden when I was undergoing and recovering from the surgery, which led to my stomach scars. The Bumble Bee on my right shoulder represents respect for nature, femininity and self-belief. At the time I had it done there was a myth that Bumble Bees were too heavy to fly and that those you saw were female. Neither is true, but the symbolism of women achieving the impossible still appeals.

My back piece was inspired by a modern Japanese design and the idea to turn the individual tattoos into a whole design. Taken from victoria naturalist’s illustrations the individual butterflies’ are native to my home county of Sussex, with the central image of a ‘Colias Lesbia’, a nod to my bi-sexuality. I enlarged them as we felt they looked a little twee reproduced life-sized and didn’t sit with my personality.

These tattoos have aged with me. The colours in the first three have faded and the edges have softened, the original deep black changing to blue. They remain as reflective of my beliefs and experience as the first day I had them done.

I am really pleased to have final recorded them so that I can see them as they are rather than caught in a glimpse as I dress in the morning.