Jonathan Martinez
From BMEzine Encyclopedia
Jonathan Martinez is a body modification artist whose repertoire includes implants, piercing, scarification, and suspension. He is currently (as of February 2006) working in Spain.
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Beginnings
Jonathan was born in Valencia, Venezuela in 1980 from Spanish parents. At 15, while living in Caracas and trying to get his first tattoo, which, due to family reasons, he could not get yet, sparked his interested in body modification.
A short time later, he began to investigate body piercing. He started to self-pierce and experiment on himself. At 16, he pierced his nipple and then his navel (which he later had to remove) and both lobes. Upon returning to Valencia, now 17, he had a long list of clients who had been able to get pierced by him. One day, he received a telephone call from a tattoo shop, close to the university campus where he studied. He was interviewed and started working there the next day.
He left that shop when he turned 20, against his wishes, and, a week later, he received a call from Tattoo Galery, the most popular shop in the city, and was asked to work there. He worked in Tattoo Galery until leaving the country and traveling to Spain.
Development
At 19, he became interested in somewhat more extreme modifications such as implants, strike branding and scarifications. He started to practice these upon joining Tattoo Galery, with the aid of a Medical Surgeon who offered his help.
- "It’s incredible, but after so much research and investigation you can imagine things that even a licensed Doctor can’t imagine. You feel a high level of satisfaction when you can converse with a professional and explain things that are not taught at a Medical School but are possible, and the results are great…"
At the beginning of the year 2000, he performed his first implants and followed that with his first Suicide Suspension, at a national tattoo convention held in the city. This lead him to try new suspensions such as Coma suspensions, Knee suspensions and O-Kee-Pa suspensions.
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The concept which he develops to perform body modifications is quite subtle. He shies away from grotesque things.
- "When I am going to perform a job on someone you must have certain criteria present; not all bodies are the same; we can not use generalizations; what works for one person may not work for someone else. I have a subjective concept of aesthetics and consider that the greatest gratification that I obtain is that people feel comfortable and fulfilled with the job well done that helps improve aspects in their life…"
Throughout his career, he has been able to perform a range of very simple jobs to more complex ones. Within the most typical piercings, his preference are genital piercings, such as ampallangs, dydoes, scrotals, transscrotal piercings, Prince Albert piercings, clitoral hoods and clitoral piercings. He also enjoys surface piercings and ear cartilage piercings such as conch, helix and tragus due to the complexity of proper healing. In regards to implants, his most requested work is genital beading (due to his less traumatic technique in reference to the most traditional technique used) as well as arm implants, horn Implants and chest implants. For these, he follows a very specific and adequate suture technique. He has also become very sought after for his scalpelled piercings, mostly in navels, Prince Alberts and nipples.
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Among his more extreme work, you can also see subincision work, meatotomy work, large scarification works, this magnificent ear pointing, frenum removal and earlobe reconstruction.
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One of the things that has contributed to his professional development has been the manufacture of specialized tools for each modification, such as elevators for implants and insertion pins for complex perforations. He has manufactured every piece used for insertion under the skin, to ensure the specific measurements needed for each person.
Practice is not the only thing that has helped him to develop his skills further. Jonathan is always investigating and exploring new techniques. He also takes great care in other important areas such as hygiene and professional ethics, to such a degree that, in 2002, he created the first project for the creation of a nationwide tattoo artists and piercers association in Venezuela. He completed this project, but it wasn’t put into action due to the political, economic, and cultural crisis that the country is currently going through.
- "It is impossible to make the health authorities in Venezuela understand the risk that the population is under if the tattoo and piercing shops do not comply with the minimum hygiene regulations …"
Despite this, he always tries to pass on information whenever possible and feels he must do this, as divulging certain information will help in the evolution of all Body Art. It is for this reason that he also writes a column for Tattoo.com.ve.
When he left Venezuela, Jonathan worked in Madrid for a short period of time for the official Zinova distributor in Spain. He is now in the city of Granada where he will carry out, together with Beth, one of the most important projects of his life—MODIFICATE.
His Modifications
Jonathan has, throughout his career, acquired numerous modifications, most of them carried out by himself:
- 2 Self Helix 14 gauge (retired).
- Self Labret 14 ga. (retired).
- Self Tongue 8 ga.
- Self Nipples 2 ga.
- Self Navel 8 ga.
- Self 10 Scrotal ladder 14 ga.
- Self Prince Albert 8 ga.
- Septum 14 ga. By Javier, (Tattoo Galery).
- Earlobes 4 mm. and then self stretched via Scalpelled Lobe to 7 mm, (to relocate).
- Self standard stretched Earlobes to 20 mm.
- 7 Genital Beading, By Javier (Tattoo Galery) and Self made again.
- Self made chest star implant.
- "XXX" abdominal Strike Branding, By Javier, (Tattoo Galery).
- He also has a bountiful collection of tattoos by various Tattoo artists that will continue to grow with time.
- “My career will never end; there is always something new to learn; the most important thing is to always enjoy your work, with simplicity and humility, recognizing who does good work and accepting it. I do not go through life trying to be a body modification rock star; I do not like talking bad about colleagues, even if I think their work is not correct, nor do I make my life a public domain so that people will ask for my autograph …”
Acknowledgements
- 2000: 2nd Place Best Piercing. Tattoo Night - Venezuela.
- 2000: Best Piercing. I Big Tattoo Expo Yaracuy - Venezuela.
- 2000: Best Piercing. Petroleo Tattoo Zone - Venezuela.
- 2001: Best Piercing. Petroleo Tattoo Zone. Venezuela.
- 2001: Best Piercing. Art on the skin II - Venezuela.
- 2001: Best Unusual Piercing. National Tattoo Meeting - Venezuela.
- 2003: Best Unusual Piercing. Art on the Skin – 2003. Venezuela.
- 2003: Most Pierced Body. Art on the Skin-2003 - Venezuela.
- 2003: Best Unusual Piercing. Extreme Tattoo Festival - Venezuela.
- 2003: Best Piercing. V Big Tattoo Expo. - Venezuela.
- 2003: Best Unusual Piercing. V Big Tattoo Expo. - Venezuela.
- 2003: Special Award. V Big Tattoo Expo. – Venezuela.
Trivia
- At 15, Jonathan decided to study Medicine, interested mainly in Neurosurgery, Gynecology and Plastic Surgery, but his family would not help him, and he had to settle for Business Administration.
- He got his first tattoo at 17, this time not caring what would happen with his family.
- He was the first Venezuelan to perform suspensions in Venezuela and the first to perform implants.
- Among his next modifications will be his tongue split, circumcision and meatotomy.
- He is not happy with just practicing one type of suspension and prefers variety.
