CATEGORIES
Ask Here Part Two
With the release of Tattooing Ask Here—a collection of original and traditional flash, interview, stories and photographs detailing the tattoo history of Felix Leu—we took the spectacularly well-timed opportunity to speak to Loretta Leu about the book and her life with Felix. The following concludes our time well spent…
The SERPENTS of BIENVILLE
SEAN HERMAN’S TRANSFORMATIVE TATTOO
SAVED BY INK
Carlos ‘Loz’ Oliveros has never had any shortage of passion or drive. Inspired by his father, a pro fighter and DIY tattooer, Oliveros started boxing when he was just six years old, then picked up tattooing at 16. All the while surrounded by the realities of Miami’s Mexican gang culture. Saved by tattooing, Oliveros chose to follow a different path than most of his peers. A path he’s now sharing on a VH1 docu-series called Cartel Crew
THE PRODUCER
It’s no surprise at all to run into a guy like Russ Russell. Pretty much every tattoo artist I talk with cites music as a massive influence on their work and lives in general. But while, for most of them, music is a passion—an inspiration, even, for their day job at the tattoo shop—for Russ it’s almost the other way around. Music is his day job, Russ having worked as both a producer and musician for many years, with tattooing coming later on down the line
Why Is That First Tattoo Encounter So Terrifying?
There is something about getting that very first tattoo that will always make you feel a little bit sick when you walk through the door
The Serpents Of Bienville - Sean Herman's Transformative Tattoo
“There is probably nothing more menacing or dangerous than an individual who is devoid of compassion or empathy. When this individual is permitted by community apathy and bias to successfully cloak himself in the attire of one who claims allegiance to his or her Creator, it becomes the moral imperative of those who lay witness to the peril to step up before it is too late. Until such a time when domestic violence and sexual assault are eradicated for good, the perpetrators of these deplorable acts will continue to cause unspeakable harm as Evil’s welcomed ambassadors and Tyranny’s strongest ally.”
The Eternal River
Through impact-laden encounters between ornamental and figural imagery, tattooist Aron Dubois has developed a self-sourced visual language that openly explores symbology, spirituality and surrealism in an effort to “drink from the eternal river” and return to what the Colorado-native defines as “the source”. Drawing much of his inspiration from esoteric literature, mythic archetypes and the natural world, Dubois has spent his decadelong relationship with the craft “digging for the grail of tattooing”. Here, Dubois demystifies his “optimistic escape attempt” from the addictive dangers of digital tools, and the answers he finds in nature when allowing the walls that stand between himself and the world to dissolve
Palm Reader
For centuries we have looked to our palms as a valuable source of information, a complex blueprint of one’s identity, both physical and spiritual. The latter has seen the palm as a bodily map for instigating premonitions, with its many criss-crossing lines foretelling either a joyful life or a foredooming resolution
Japanese Whispers
He is one of the most gifted Japanese tattooers of his generation. From the region of Niigata in the North-East of Japan, he's spreading the beauty of Japanese tattoo culture. All tattoo lovers praise his complex and very detailed compositions which adorn the bodies of some very lucky collectors, but after 20 years, Tomo is ready to move on…
Rule Breaker
Esther Garcia plays by her own rules — she always has and always will. Even with two decades of experience, the Chicago-based artist still finds ways to push herself and innovate. Whether it’s juxtaposing two unexpected styles (she fuses blackout work with botanical imagery inspired by Dutch Masters beautifully) or offering a unique tattoo curation service in which she doesn’t actually tattoo, Garcia isn’t afraid to take risks. What else is up her sleeve? We tracked her down to find out.
Faces Of The Future
With the onslaught of social media these ground-breaking moments have become more frequent, occurring on an almost weekly basis—depending on the quality of your feed—yet, moments that break new ground have also become as ephemeral as a refresh button; just yesterday I was spellbound by Jaya Suartika’s innovative placement of an Indonesian batik keris design on (and it would seem also, in) Paul Stillen’s backside.
I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Some Ink.
AS AN ART AND COMMUNITY, WE HAVE COME A VERY LONG WAY IN THE ACCEPTANCE STAKES AND THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE IS CRUCIAL
Ask Here Part One
With the release of Tattooing Ask Here—a collection of original and traditional flash, interviews, stories and photographs detailing the tattoo history of Felix Leu—we took the spectacularly well-timed opportunity to speak to Loretta Leu about the book and her life with Felix:
Why Do We Define Artistic Success By Online Popularity?
For the tattoo industry in 2019, Instagram is everything. It’s the go-to place if you want to discover the latest work from artists.
Warrior Of Light
Master of the craft and self-proclaimed “citizen of the free world”, Guy Le Tatooer has spent a lifetime leading the charge of tattooing with a singular mission behind his ‘intemporal’, world-swallowing work: to carry the wearer through this life and into the next. Here, the globetrotting trail-blazer speaks of his wild formative years as a secondgeneration tattooist, the many layers behind his own boundary-pushing body-suit and what it truly means to live outside of jurisdiction
The Real World
There are always some artists out there in the world who don’t need to say a lot because their work speaks volumes for them. You might think this is the vast majority, but it’s not. To be one of those people, you need the weight of history behind you–a legacy that spans at least a decade, leaving in its trail the answers to any questions anybody could ever want to ask. A legacy that doesn’t only include your work but also all of the other things you gave back to the niche you work in: education, assistance, volunteering your expertise. If history really is the one thing that can judge any of us, Andrea Afferni has very little to worry about…
The Last Interview With Norm 'Love Letters'
October 11, 2019—Norm dies. “Norm Will Rise” aka “@normloveletters” was an acclaimed tattooist and owner of Love Letters Tattoo studio in Los Angeles. It was surreal, and it’s hard to believe that he is no longer with us. The outpouring of comments came in countless numbers for Norm across the internet from family members, friends, colleagues and people who he deeply inspired…
Soul Shaker
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, IT DOESN’T EVEN COME UNDER THE BANNER OF BLACK MAGIC - IT’S A TOTALLY NORMAL THING TO DO
SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE
Cat Alip-Douglas traded her life on the fashion floors of Condé Nast in New York for the wooden floors of a London yoga school. As career changes go, it’s a pretty dramatic one, kicking off the ol’ Manolo Blahniks, as she puts it, for the mostly barefoot life of a yoga teacher. But Cat doesn’t regret it for a second
The SERPENTS of BIENVILLE SEAN HERMAN'S TRANSFORMATIVE TATTOO
Years ago I found myself in a small shop in Montclair, New Jersey. Sheets
THE CREEKMAN
Kevin Creekman is a prime example of the massive impact tattoos can have on someone’s life. Following a struggle with weight and self acceptance that saw him drop to nearly half his size in just one year, Creekman embarked on an epic tattoo journey that involved getting a full bodysuit. During the process, which was completed two years ago, the ink not only changed him on the outside, but it also helped him find strength and self-love, impacting him at his very core
HOLD THE LINE
The skull has come to mean many things to many people; often as an icon of death, its image operates at a deeply personal and symbolic level. It has a strong emotional pull for it starkly reveals what is typically hidden from view—our biological architecture. Yet it is also a highly reused repetitive image, one that is found in many contemporary cultural artefacts, from movies, comics, medical textbooks, video games, and beyond
DIG DEEP
Using a tattoo machine as an etching tool? It needed the boiling imagination of a punk-rocker to come out with such a crazy idea. Dr Lulu doesn’t miss a beat and is already digging deep into his own etching style
Hot, Hot Heat
A little while back, we threw down a gauntlet for chancers, slackers and gamblers to join the crew here and held the doors wide open to see what happened. After sitting on them for far too long, this piece from the wonderful Aurora Galore rose to the top of the pile and well… she kinda has a way with words:
A Tattooed Fairy Tale (Part 2)
Once upon a time, a particular tattooed woman received a letter from a tattooed man. Except it wasn't a really a letter, it was a Facebook message
The Wrong Side Of The Tracks
Following Taiki Masuda's arrest in April 2015, charged with violating the medical Practitioner's Act -- which prohibits any medical practices without a license -- for tattooing in Japan, the journalists and producers Hyoe Yamamoto and Deborah Barillas have been following his stroy. They're still shooting for their upcoming documentary "Criminal Engravement" which will record his fight for his rights to be afree tattooer in the birhtplace of Irezumi, the traditional Japanese tattoo.
Tattoofest Krakow
3–4 JUNE 2017A couple of months back, one of the most fun conventions in Europe - TattooFest opened it’s doors for the 12th time and that’s no mean feat! We invited Aleksandra Halatek to tell us the story of 2017 from an organisers point of view and sent Kamila out with her camera to document… damn, there’s some talent out there:
Rebel Inc.
Wayne Simmons talks with some of his favourite rebels within tattooing, artists doing something different with their inks. This month he meets Benji Problemo of My Body Art in Lyon
My Name Is Bear
Nahko: an Oregon-native born a mix of Puerto Rican, Native American, and Filipino bloodlines considers himself a citizen in service to the planet. Disillusioned by the world around him and inspired by vagabond, Americana musicians and storytellers like Conner Oberst and Bob Dylan, Nahko left home as a teenager in search of adventure and self discovery. This sounds like a job for the boss. Definitely a job for the boss…
Beware the Thing
Beccy Rimmer finds out why internationally renowned tattooists are creating art on fake body parts…