The thrilling tradition of people getting the latest memes permanently affixed to their bodies continues this week with Salt Bae, the accomplished Turkish chef turned meme turned BuzzFeed-reported tattoo:
Jayden Davies toldBuzzFeed Monday that he was prompted to take the permanent Salt Bae plunge thanks to a Facebook post from tattoo artist Mika Ryan. "So typical me, who does silly things, I messaged him and said, 'Yes, I'll do it,'" Davies said. The general public's response to the ink thus far, Davies added, has been positive. "It's a great story to tell in time to come, it's all for a bit of a laugh [sic]," he explained.
Naturally, not everyone is sprinkling proverbial meme salt all over this dedicated recreation:
The likeness, however, is undeniable:
Glorious memes aside, Salt Bae—a.k.a. Nusret Gökçe—is poised for one hell of a 2017. As the Nusr-Et co-owner revealed in a recent interview with the Hurriyet Daily News, he's planning to open New York City and London locations very soon. Gökçe also graciously explained his signature touch as merely the logical conclusion to his creative process. "I did not do that to show off," he said. "It is just my signature. You can think of it [as a] kind of final touch for a painting. It was a final touch to the meat. I was blessing the meat."
Surprisingly, this actually does not mark the first time Salt Bae has been recreated in the name of art: