First time I saw Lukas in National Geographic movie "Taboo: Bodymodification". I think, we a little similar - we both love bbodmod and travelling)) So it was very interesting for me to make this interview, and very useful for russian bodmod community, cause except "tabooo" movie we no have information about foreign masters. Some people even don't hear the name "Lukas Zpira". That's why I am really proud to make it. Enjoy!
What kind of bod mod you make?
Pretty much every kind of procedures as long as there is good intention behind it.
I started in 95 with piercing then scarification, then slowly came to all kinds of procedure .
What bodmod you favorite - for process and how it's looks like?
I really like scarification as far as process is concerned, but I also like to develope my own technique for other kind of procedure. Make it faster, better
How much personal bodmod you have?.
In cool memories IV , Baudrillard was saying about body art, "un inventaire pathétique et burlesque ... For me the is only one transformation , using different mediums .
Where you learn how to make it, do you have any problems with law or customers?
I Learn a bit by myself at the beginning in 96' I meet steve who showed me a couple of things, then Blaire. I was part of the first and second mod con where we were doing lot of procedures and shared a lot of knowledge. But I always try to find my own .way to do things . Laws is always a problem, in lot of countries there is strong regulation for pseudo surgical practices. I also travel a lot so I am confronted with lots of regulations. And in France I have been in trill for scarification on a underaged; it was a very interesting trill that helped create a new law based on this judgement. Problems always happen you work with the body, every one reacts differently, for me the main problem is when they have problem and refer to someone else that me for advices, as I am suppose to be the one who know who to andle aftercare.
How you make tonque splitting, do you have any special techniq?
It s a bit difficult to describe like that. I m doing full workshop about this king of procedures, the main advice I can give to anyone is to lure before practice. I see a lot of suppose to be procedures online that are far from beeing correct.
Tell us about bodysuspension. What is it for you? How long you practice? Which poses you like?
I did my first suspension beginning 2000 with Steve's crew. I slowly came to a really personal and ritualistic approach, trying to understand the hole mental and physical process behind it. I slowly developed. Performance where I am connect with electronic, taking the emotional and phil all responces to create an environment I which I put the "spectateur" . For me suspension is more than a challenge it s an experience
I work a lot on dinamic suspension using a small benggy, I always stay close from the floor, and always work with my breath to control blood oxygenation. I make myself "fly"
Do you have any ideas about how bodmod culture will evolve in future?
The thing is the bod mod culture has not really evolved since long time, the so called community aroundq the work has mostly spend it s time creating regulations, but rules and norms.
What the difference between tattoo culture and bodmod culture? It's very close, but not the same.
No people how are really into bod mod use the tattoo as a tool for transformation, but it doesn't really work the other way around. The tattoo industry has not always been friendly, with the bod mod practices
The tattoo has become very mainstream, and not everyone see it as a way to transform oneself, and even before that tattoo was more a any to express your belonging to a group.
You still practice bodmod or only travelling now?
I always did both, If i wanted to evolve I had to travel to meet new people and when I started to travel we were just a few practicing around the world. time change, normalization came, competing came. So I keep doing my things but with people who find me. I don't advertise my work, don t show my work, and I developed some side project to developed my need for creativity. 
Сan you explain "bodyhaking" term, what is it?
It s a philosophic approach coming from the concept of data flesh develop Arthur and marie louise Kroker in a texte called hacking the future, I like this idea of hybridation, and thinking the body has an unready made . I think the body will evolved, it already did thought technologies and science but the people who are developing these technologies are not going to do it for the best of humanity but for the best of business, these technologies will be there to slave us more and more, new tech addiction, new needs. The evolution of the body can t go with out the evolution of the mind. I like the idea of hybridization but again the transformation can be only dictated by our free will, now I t s an important step of humanity, now fort the first time the evolution won't be a natural process but a laboratory created process, body hacking doesn't stands agains but warns us of the danger of the danger of this kind of evolution if we don't take the control of it. But at first body hacking stand again any kind of property tittle on the body, stands against the appropriation of the body by the medical corps, by the government, by the religions or by so called bod mod community institution who just want to to create new norm, and get a piece of what belong to us.
Tell about your projects now, what your main interests now?
Has far as bod mod is concerned even if I still practice a bit my main interest Is about the philosophical approach, I do a lot of round table/conferences and teaching classes.
I'm mainly working a transmedia project with my daughter mayliss, it s our interwinded vision of this word that we travel since more than 10years together. The project take form of a serie of short films realized by arte creative, and also immersive exhibition, including photos (realized by mayliss) texted which I write, painting and totem collected trou our travels.
You travel a lot. where are you now and where you go next?
Right now I'm somewhere in east Cøast us on my way to New York. And next I will be in berlin. France Japan and so on !
Different countries - different reactions when people see tattoes and bodmod. Did you have any troubles with it? which countries more and less toleranсe?
I never had real problem having bod mod, but I think it s different when you just travel to countries rather than when you live there. I know even in France please get judge if they have bod mod, for example if you have a kid and you go to school, when the kid has a problem the blame is often on the parents bod mod. Society around the world always see us as somekind of outsider, and that will not realy change, that s why I prefere to try to create an other kind of society rather then to struggle trying to fit in this one! That s why I don t realy like the community attitude with always try to normalize things to fit in a society were it don t belong and were I don t want to belong.
Sometimes I am really tired from the questions "is it hurt/is it real' Do you feel the same? What you do when you feel it?
I m really tired too with the "doesn't it hurt" it s a stupid question that egnorent people ask us, we should talk about socially accepted pain and non socially accepted as there it pain evolved in lot of thing such has extrem sports, any kind of plastic surgery or simple pussy waxing . Our society take has mark of engagement a when you go tryout pain has a ballet dancer, a cyclists a marathon man, our society accepts any kind of pain in a normative transformation such has boobs surgery nose surgery etc, wich is I think an interesting paradox . Yes pain is a mark of engagement it s a process you have to go through but it s not something you look for perhaps a strong symbol how help creating a ritualistic environment when you decidede to go through a personal transformation
'nobody is perfect" - what you mean?
I mean evolution Is always a possibility we are not stuck in shape and our mind shapes, society makes us forget that. And it mean also to push this evolution and to not get stuck in a new patern, evolution should be a permanent process, we often get out of the norm just to get new ones, that's not evolution.
After 10 years of travelling - what you understand about world and peoples? About system in which one we live?
I travel since 97' around the world what I understand Is we are on the wrong path but one must be realy blind not to see it. But the world is blind That s the reason why I started the project the chaos Chrønicles, to share my thought, my experiences. I do that with my daughter mayliss cause I think everything starts with educations and the dogmas we have been through, school is the first place where they enslave our mind, Tv is the second. I like confrontation with reality and make an opinion by myself. I don't have a great admiration for human kind as a whole, even if I like people.
Happyness and Freedom - what is it for you?
Maybe the real freedom is to have you whole life fitting in a suitcase and being able to just go where you want when you want. There is not much more free men in the world.
What your daughter think about your lifestyle?
She the one typing my answer while I'm driving , so she can answer you directly!
Enjoy Lukas's :
