This campfire session examines how Medusa tattoos function as powerful visual testimonies of resilience and transformation. Through a critical literacy lens, we will cover research that explores the reclamation of Medusa, once viewed as a monstrous figure, as an emblem of survivor empowerment. Drawing on frameworks from Bhabha's third space theory and Rosenblatt's transactional theory, the study investigates how tattoo artists and survivors collaborate to create meaningful visual narratives. Situated within the conference theme, this research illuminates how these tattoos serve as contemporary sacred artifacts in healing rituals, transforming bodies into sites of agency and collective resistance. By analyzing the collaborative meaning-making between artists and survivors, this study contributes to understanding visual literacy's role in trauma recovery while legitimizing tattooing as a sophisticated multimodal literacy practice. Together, we will also examine additional tattoo content to extend the concept of tattooing as a critical literacy practice.
