Bevel Up: Photography by Wintersong
© E Winter Tashlin

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Ruth's 50th Birthday Tongue Splitting

I had the privilege of accompanying my close friend Ruth on a trip to NYC, where after literally decades of wanting it done, she had her tongue split as her 50th birthday present to herself.
Waiting for the SubwayWe stayed with friends in NJ, so we had to take the PATH and the NYC Subway to get to the studio
Last TimeA last fun pre-procedure shot of Ruth's tongue the way it has been for the last 50 years
Marking the CutA surgical marker is used to precisely mark the bifurcation line. Ruth elected to have it split back as far as could be done safely
Waiting to Begin Nervous anticipation as the body mod artist makes his final preparations
Lining Up The artist took a good bit of time being certain he was properly positioned and aligned.
No Turning BackThe cutting process took around 2 minutes
Cross SectionThis is not a part of one's tongue that should be visible. If I hadn't been focused on shooting, I'd probably have freaked out a bit here.
Sewing UpWhite the cutting took about 2 minutes, the suturing took closer to twenty
All DoneI shot this while the artist was going over aftercare instructions (not for the first time)
Resting She was pretty wiped out after the whole thing. Here we had already walked back to the subway, and would still have a walk once off the PATH train.
Tongue x2Her tongue(s) swelled quite a bit! A bit of red tinted saliva was about the only blood though.

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