To look into Marie Jose Cristerna's eyes is to behold a gaze that reflects inner turmoil, psychic pain and a sadistic pleasure from it all. She is known her home country of Mexico as La Mujer Vampiro--the Vampire Woman.

Cristerna is a tattoo and body modificiation artist, and her own body has become a shocking display for her work. She has implanted cranial ridges beneath the skin on her forehead, sports a set of dental fangs and has laced her pierced skin in ink with satanic imagery and intricate patterns.

My body transformation has been a part of taking my taste to the extreme, Cristerna told AFP at a recent tattoo expo in Venezuela. Life is short and sometimes we waste it on many things, so I've chosen beauty. And for me it's beautiful to be this way, so that's why I do it.

The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses during a tattoo convention in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses backstage before a performance. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna shows off a tattoo on her inner thigh. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses during a tattoo convention in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses during a tattoo convention in Caracas, Venezuela. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses backstage before a performance. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna has hooks inserted into the flesh on her back before she is suspended in mid-air. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna is suspended by hooks through the flesh on her back. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Blood drips from the holes in Cristerna's back where the hooks were inserted. REUTERS
The Vampire Woman of Mexico La Mujer Vampiro
Cristerna poses during a tattoo convention in Bogota, Colombia. REUTERS
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