Photos Chronicle Heavily Tattooed People, Both Covered Up And Exposed

These unsuspecting individuals love their ink.

This is Graham. He is 58 years old.

Alan Powdrill

You may look at the photo above and think: I know Graham. I get Graham. You may think that with a guy like Graham, what you see is what you get. Case closed. But then you find out underneath that windbreaker and button-down, Graham is hiding a whole lot of ink.

Like, head to toe ink.

Alan Powdrill

Graham is but one of London-based photographer Alan Powdrill's colorful subjects. For his series "Covered," Powdrill chronicles men and women covered in tattoos that they themselves often hide beneath clothes every day. "I was 51 when I started," Graham told Powdrill of his first experience with body art, "and my dad was already dead and my mum didn't say anything, as she was in the early stages of dementia."

Camera in tow, Powdrill documents the unlikely individuals who have permanently transformed their bodies into vibrant expressions of themselves. In his visual universe, under one man's suit and tie, or another woman's sweatshirt, exists a body-turned-canvas, a colorful work of art that strangers may never see.

Viewers, be warned: Your expectations may be fractured, your assumptions overturned, your eyes entranced.

IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
Michelle, 53
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
“Can’t say what age I’ll stop. While there’s still space to fill, It’ll get filled. I don’t think my attitude will ever change.”
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
Victoria, 37
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
“My tattoos are part of who I am and I’ll always love my bodysuit now and when I’m 80. The love I get for what I look like is what it’s all about.”
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
Stefano, 33
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
"I love every inch of my skin, but I love my back most because I've been waiting for 17 years to get it done, and it's exactly how I wanted it."
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
Andrew, 32
IMP Features/Alan Powdrill
"I've become less precious about tattoos the more I get them. So hopefully I'll only stop when I'm dead."

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