Egyptian tattoo artist draws flowers, butterflies to hide burns
Shenouda Abdel Malak draws free tattoos on burn victims as part of a project called "Love Yourself."
In a workshop in Cairo's upscale neighborhood of Maadi, Egyptian tattoo artist Shenouda Abdel Malak conceals people's psychological distress by drawing tattoos over their scars and burns free of charge.
Abdel Malak, a middle-aged man with a portly figure, round face and soft manner, calls his initiative “Love Yourself.” With his needle and deft fingers, a scar from a fire is hidden under a flower or a butterfly.
“I am moved — and horrified — by how people who come to me for a tattoo to cover up a wound or a burn are more scarred emotionally than physically. Their scars have made them victims of mockery, constant bullying or rejection by a loved one,” he told Al-Monitor.
"It is free. I just aim to give hope to hundreds of people who are suffering from burns and skin abnormalities, which also cause psychological problems," Abdel Malak said.
