Black and white diptych of a shirtless person seen from behind, with a thin dark line running down the spine and small tattoos on the upper arm and shoulder.

Enlarged with AI from a smaller original

Thin line down the spine in black and grey

Back · Black and grey · Photo

Two black and white photographs show a person's bare back, one as a close crop of the neck and shoulder and one as a full view. A single thin dark line runs down the centre of the spine, and it is unclear from the image whether it is ink or another material. Small patterned tattoos are visible on the upper arm and shoulder in the full view, in black and grey tones against a plain light background.

Back Upper arm Shoulder Line Spine Arm tattoo

Find an artist for this

Take it to an artist as a reference. A good artist will make it yours rather than copy someone else's tattoo.

A story inspired by this tattoo · fiction

Dear Hetty, The north wall of Carrow Keep leans a good four feet out of plumb, and Mr Oakes says it has done so since his grandfather's day, which is no comfort when I am the one who must climb the stair to the broken leads and drop the line.

Keep reading

The line is black waxed linen, thin as a lady's hair, and I weighted it with a brass bob from the estate office. It takes a whole morning to settle. Each time I let it go the wind off the moor takes it sideways, then it swings, then it hangs, and all the while the wall beside it stands at its ugly angle, pretending nothing is wrong.

Yesterday a boy from the village came up with his dog and asked what I was measuring. I said the difference between what a thing is and what it wants to be. He laughed and told me that was daft, then stood with me while the bob came to rest against the flagstones, a clean dark stroke from the sky down to the grass.

I have marked the spot with a stake and a red ribbon. Tell Father I am not coming home until the figures are right, though I suspect the figures were never the problem. Your loving sister, Nell.