Tattoos, Piercings, and Little Things that Make a Finn Interesting: Interview with Sonja

Tattoos are usually controversial and perceived as heinous; however, they could be fun and serve as quintessential elements in defining the personality and ideologies of a person. 

In this interview, Uprising Platform sat down with Sonja Heinonenn, an avant-garde creative personnel who is into styling, horticulture, and, of course, the theme of our discussion, tattoos and other creative artworks.

Sonja explained to Uprising Platform what inspired her tattoos and the spirit of pursuing locking her hair. To experience the beauty of life, you have to let go of whatever constraints you have and embrace the inner sense of self, like Sonja, and get yourself a '3rd eye'.

Sonja Heinonenn

Read the interesting conversation between Sonja and the Uprising Platform.

Introduction: Tell Us About Yourself?

My name is Sonja. I'm from Helsinki, Finland, and yeah, I grew up here most of my life.

 

Many years ago, I lived in Turku, but, like, most of my years have been spent here. 

Passion and Pursuit: What inspires you, your Art and Craft?

I've been doing arts and crafts my whole life. 

Sonja's work of art (Photo Credit: Instagram)

When I was younger, I was studying basic arts on the side at my school. There was this old house where you could go once a week and do different kinds of things, like paintings or drawings or clay art, art things? 

Mostly, it was like painting and drawing, and I was doing that. Many years later, I started to photograph more and, like, for the past 5 years or 6 years, I've been starting to paint and draw more. 

Also, I also like to do jewellery. It's a lot of fun. There was also photography, I think at some point, when I was like, maybe 14, 15, my mom bought my first camera. 

So I was always using that one ever since I was super little, but when I was maybe 15, I started to get more interested in it. Yeah, ever since that, I've been photographing a lot.

What Type of Photography Do You Do?

Photo taken by Sonja

I'm focusing on taking pictures of people for portraits. 

And also, animals and nature, obviously. That's what I'm mostly focusing on, especially people and like weddings, uh, baby showers, parties.

I also do street photography; it was a passion of mine at one point. Like, I go to the city and take a camera with me when the lighting is super nice, and just randomly, for the crowd, different people in the city.

See more of the photos taken by Sonja below:

Photo of the bridge

Ideologies and concepts behind tattoos and piercings

Sonja's tattoos and numerous piercings

Okay, so I think I always knew, like, I would be super tattooed for some reason. 

I think when I was a kid, I saw a lot of people with tattoos. 

So I was always super impressed, and I was like, yeah, I want to look like that at some point in my life. So I got my 1st tattoo. 

I really wanted to get it when I was 18, but, uh, I didn't know anybody, and I was, it was a new thing for me. So, uh, it took maybe a few years, but then my, uh, roommate knew a tattoo artist, so that's how I felt comfortable enough to take my 1st tattoo with her, and I was, I think I was maybe 19, 20. 

I think 19, and it was a feather on my chest. So I got the 1st tattoo on the most noticeable place, and after that, I waited maybe 2 years. I was thinking about getting mixed, and I started to get tattoos every year when I was maybe 23. 

Most of my tattoos are just nice pictures. It was inspired by the odds of people, but mostly like animals, flowers, uh, plants in general. Yeah, I think like 30% of my body is tattooed.

See more of her tattoos and piercings below:

Sonja got her first tattoo when she was 19

Multiple piercings and a neck tattoo

More Stories on the Acquisition of Piercings

Sonja's piercings

I got my 1st piercing over my lip when I was 16, and it was there for many years, and at some point, I was thinking of getting the most painful piercing. Then, I saw on Instagram, this one girl with the 3rd eye piercing, which is the one on my forehead. 

Then I saw the picture, and I was thinking, like, it's the most unique, and, like, it was super pretty on her, so I wanted to try it. I went with my best friend at the time, and I did the forehead piercing and most of my piercings at the same time. 

The one I took recently, I think, is inside my ear. What? Yeah. I don't remember the name, but I can check for you. 

 

Like when I was 13, 14, and then it got out of style, so I never took that one. And like, now, like, nowadays, when people are again taking that piercing, it looks really nice, but I don't think it would suit me because I like everything to be super symmetrical, you know?

Everything I desire, I've been having; I don't regret it. 

Story behind the locks

Sonja flaunts locs (Photo Credit: Instagram)

The first locks I took, or I made was when I was maybe 14. Uh, I was asking my mom, can I dye my hair black? And she was like, no. And then I saw... one girl in the magazine, and she was having dreadlocks, and I was super interested, and I told my mom, either, like, you're going to let me dye my hair black, or I will have dreadlocks, and she was saying, you will not get black hair. So, I started to do my own dreadlocks. 

I was 14 in the middle of the night, and my mom, when we woke up the next day, was like, ah, and yeah, that's the story. When I 1st took my dreadlocks, but like, of course, because I didn't know how to make them. So they were kind of like, loose and quite chunky. 

So they didn't hold that well, so I needed to brush them away. And also we went to India. Uh, and I was afraid I might get something on my hair while I was having the dreadlocks. So just in case I pressed those away and like, ever since a breast goes away, I wanted to get them back. And when I was 18, 19, my friend was also trying to do dreadlocks for me, but she didn't get it immediately...

Four years into preserving her locs (Photo Credit: IG)

 

It was the same thing, they didn't hold, and I needed to take them away, and I was like, ever since those years, I've been wanting my hair back, I felt like, that's my hair. And 4 years ago, I decided to try one more time, and yeah, it's been 4 years. 

She kept the look for, like, 4 years now. 4 years, yes. And it's not changing because, like, uh, when I had my, like, my straight hair, uh, it was always like I was always changing my hair, because I didn't feel like anything. And any of those were only me, but, like, when I have my dreadlocks, I feel like myself. I don't want to change it.

"How a Visit to India Changed My Life"

A visit to India changed her perspective on life

We were there (in India) for like, two weeks in Goa. A really nice place. We were there, just having a holiday, and that was my 1st trip to a little bit further out of Europe, and it was really nice. 

It was like the 1st day was shocking. But in a good way, when we woke up the next morning, and it was calm, and you could really say like where you are, because like the thing is like if you don't know anything about Asian or African countries, like that, you see just the paradise photos; but it's good to travel and see the different sides. And it was amazing. It was good to see.

What are the Fun things to do in Finland?

I really enjoy going to second-hand stores, especially, uh, the bigger ones in the city.  So that's what I enjoy about second-hand stores. Museums, of course, and also going ice skating. These are some of the enjoyable things to do in Finland.

Social Media Page: https://www.instagram.com/mheinonenn/