Shocking footage has emerged of a man getting an anatomically correct heart design cut into his chest for aesthetic reasons.

The video, captured at the International Tattoo Expo in Sydney, Australia on Sunday, shows the artist using a scalpel to engrave the heart shape onto the man's body.

Writing online about the procedure, the filmer said it sheds light "on a very taboo industry, yet ritual scarification has been performed for tens of thousands of years in tribes around the world."

Managing director of backinktime, gets an anatomically correct heart design cut into his chest with a 15 blade (scalpel) at the Australian International Tattoo Expo in Sydney.
This procedure is currently being documented from the moment of first incision to the final healed scar.
Shedding light on a very taboo, industry yet ritual scarification had been performed for tens of thousands of years in tribes around the world.