People Are Getting CJP Cockroach Tattoos. Artists Say They've Never Seen a Meme Go This Far.

A meme you share costs nothing. A meme you ink onto your forearm is a different kind of statement. Tattoo studios in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Kochi report a steady stream of clients asking for the neon-green CJP cockroach — some with their member ID underneath, some with just the three words. Homegrown speaks to nine artists and fourteen people who went through with it. Their reasons are strikingly consistent and not remotely funny: most describe a year of rejected applications, and a tattoo that reminds them the thing being mocked is the thing that survives.