Body art in the context of "Virtuality"

Body painting is a form of body art where artwork is painted directly onto the human skin. Unlike tattoos and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of mehndi or "henna tattoos" about two weeks). Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) "temporary tattoo". Large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work can sometimes be referred to as temporary tattoos.

Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In the process of body scarification, scars are purposely formed by cutting or branding the skin by various methods (sometimes using further sequential aggravating wound-healing methods at timed intervals, like irritation). Scarification is sometimes called cicatrization.

Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (e.g., common ear piercing in many societies), and religious rites of passage (e.g., circumcision in a number of cultures), as well as the modern primitive movement.

Body modification is performed for a large variety of reasons, including aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, to display group membership or affiliation, in remembrance of lived experience, traditional symbolism such as axis mundi and mythology, to create body art, for shock value, and as self-expression, among other reasons.

The Ibibio people (/ɪbɪˈbi.oʊ/ ih-bih-BEE-oh), also known as the Ibom are a coastal people in southern Nigeria. They are mostly found in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, and the Eastern part of Abia State. During the colonial period in Nigeria, the Ibibio Union asked for recognition by the British as a sovereign nation.

The Annang, Ekid, Oron and Ibeno share personal names, culture, and traditions with the Ibibio, and speak closely related varieties (dialects) of Ibibio that are more or less mutually intelligible. The Ekpo and societies are a significant part of the Ibibio political system. They use a variety of masks to execute social control. Body art plays a major role in Ibibio art.

Mehndi or mehendi is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.

Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembles similar traditions of henna as body art found in North Africa, East Africa and the Middle East. There are many different names for mehndi across the languages of South Asia.