‘Beautiful alien scars’: Grimes’ new back tattoo is turning heads

Grimes’ new back tattoo is out of this world.

The “Oblivion” pop musician revealed the intricate, futuristic swirls Sunday on Instagram. The tattoo, which was co-created by L.A.-based artists and designers @tweakt and Nusi Quero, covers her entire back in a symmetrical pattern akin to wings.

“Don’t have a good pic cuz it hurts too much and I need to sleep haha, and it’ll be red for a few wks , but gna be beautiful alien scars,” Grimes (the stage name of Canadian artist Claire Boucher) captioned her Instagram post. The tattoo, once fully healed, will be in white ink.

Fellow musicians Princess Nokia, Ashnikko and Corpse Husband praised the design, with singer-songwriter Hana, who has frequently worked with Grimes, commenting: “so inspiring to watch this happen!!!”

Other followers noted how painful the tattoo looked, while one user asked to see it under a backlight.

The back tattoo is the latest addition to Grimes’ extraterrestrial aesthetic. She already sports several tattoos and has been vocal about her love of sci-fi and futurism, noting in March that she was “ready to die with the red dirt of Mars beneath [her] feet.”

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Is the “Æ” in the name X Æ A-12 pronounced “A-I” or “ash”? Depends on which parent (Elon Musk or Grimes) you ask.

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The singer’s embrace of space oddities has been a prominent part of her career and even extended to her personal life. Last year, she and partner Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla, welcomed a baby boy they named X Æ A-12.

In her Instagram stories Sunday, Grimes uploaded various computer-generation sketches of her new tattoo. She also reposted Quero’s explanation of what the new ink means..

“Last night was an amazing experience, @tweakt and I collaborated on a tattoo for @grimes entire back, a courageous and beautiful decision and Talisman she will carry with her from here forward, an armor, a spectral field that will affect and protect her in ways unknown but no doubt with a benevolence of some kind,” Quero wrote.