Scarification (intentionally scarring a person’s body) started as a ritual act. In its first incarnation, as a tribal rite, it was characterised by big, broad strokes, thick lines, and chunky raised scars with a symbolic meaning but little fine detail. Over time, fresh techniques and a new generation of body-modification artists – people like Ryan Ouellette – have made possible scars that rival tattoos for clarity and detail. Ryan, who works at Precision Body Arts in Nashua, New Hampshire, is one of the top scarifiers in the world. He started out cutting himself, mostly on his legs, “making little patterns and designs using a needle head or anything else sharp”.