Why are these people showing off their tattoos?

Mumbai: Photographer Spencer Kovats recruited hundreds of strangers who had tattoos on their bodies and were concealed beneath the clothes they were wearing and provide them with an opportunity to show off their undercover ink for all to see.

In a photo endeavour called, Uncovered, Kovats invited strangers to pose for his camera. The photographs were taken in two phases — the first one had the strangers pose with their clothes on and the other, revealing their concealed tattoos. According to Huffington Post, the Vancouver-based photographer juxtaposes the two aspects of each subject, covered and exposed, in a side-by-side series of portraits.

For most of the models, their expression changes as their clothing is removed, as if a protective shell has been shed. Their faces and body language change from stoic to animate, the pictured persons displaying the various aspects of themselves.

Kovats’ series challenges his viewers, alerting our attention to the way we read, process and judge others based on their appearance.