W 4

THE UK'S BEST SELLING TATTOO MAGAZINE
GEIT'S
T ITHE L
NKAW
!
NORM: THE LAST
INTERVIEW GROUP CHAT:
LUCIE RICHARDSON
AMY WHITING
LAUREN HEPPLE
WILL DIXON
TATTOOERS
AND CLIENTS
WITH A
VISION
ANDREA
AFFERNI
REALISM FOR
THE MASSES STARR DIG DEEP WITH
GUY LE DAVE VALENTINE
TATOOER
ON THE ROAD
LESS TRAVELLED
KEV RICHARDSON JR
AND HIS EERIE BLACKWORK
KIERA
A CAT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING
P-MOD
A LIFETIME IN TATTOO
PHOTOGRAPHY
ISSUE 309 • DECEMBER 2019 • £3.95
MODEL: KAYDIE • PHOTOGRAPH: SCOTT COLE

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CONTENTS
62
16
22
54 70
16 NORM through her portfolio: cats. Lots of ‘em. to carry the wearer through this life and THE USUAL SUSPECTS
As fitting a tribute as we could get. Although the traveling artist didn’t plan into the next. 5 SATURDAY NIGHT &
Probably the last interview with Norm to specialise in sassy kittens, they’ve pretty SUNDAY MORNING
before he passed… and he seemed happy. much taken over her professional life. 70 MIDNIGHT JOURNEY 8 WOMAN IN THE WOODS
Kev Richardson Jnr is a tattooist 10 SLEEVE NOTES
who’s not afraid to explore the edges of 114 TATTOO OF THE MONTH
22 FIGURES OF FREEDOM 54 THE HEART OF THE MATTER
After a decade travelling around the tattoo Back in May this year, Dan Jordan from horror and the macabre. His creations,
THIS ISSUE'S
positioned as symbols of death, the
planet for the specialised press, French Starr got himself tattooed by Dave at the CONTRIBUTORS
photographer Dominique Pichard - aka Great British Tattoo Show. He decided to afterlife and the occult, cover the skin Pascal Bagot
p-mod - gathers together some of his use his time wisely and spent the entire with a beautiful cloak of eerie and Kamila Burzymowska
archives for the publication of his first book.. time in the chair asking some damn good transgressive black and grey ink. Adriana De Barros
questions. It’s a great piece and there’s much Rebecca Givens
78 THIS IS PERSONAL Steven Guichard-Kenny
30 THE REAL WORLD to learn here - not just about Dave himself, No matter how popular they become, Sean Herman
There are always artists out there in the but also about what it’s like to be a tattooer subjectivity will continue to make tattoos Barbara Pavone
world who don’t need to say a lot because in 2019 who came up through the ranks. one of the most unique artforms in the world, Ken Penn
their work speaks volumes for them. Andrea with one truth continually at their core… Wayne Simmons
Afferni talks about his life in tattooing and 62 WARRIOR OF LIGHT that no two stories will ever be the same.
what it’s like to be at the top of your game. Master of the craft and self-proclaimed COVER PHOTOGRAPH
“citizen of the free world”, Guy Le Tatooer 86 THE TRANSFORMATIVE TATTOO Scott Cole
36 IN THE LAND OF CATS has spent a lifetime leading the charge of Sean Herman begins his new train
Take one look at Kiera’s work and you’ll tattooing with a singular mission behind of thought and this issue delves into
quickly notice a common thread running his ‘intemporal’, world-swallowing work: persecution, witchcraft and privilege.
EDITOR CREDIT CONTROL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ISSN 0966-4351

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S K I N D E E P M AG A Z I N E • 3
SATURDAY NIGHT
& SUNDAY MORNING
Marta Lipinski
Soul Shaker
I
watched an interview with Steven Tyler
(Aerosmith) and Joe Rogan a few weeks
TO A LOT OF PEOPLE, IT DOESN’T
back—if you’ve ever watched an episode EVEN COME UNDER THE BANNER
of the Joe Rogan Experience, you’ll OF BLACK MAGIC - IT’S A TOTALLY
know that he has all kinds of guests on—and
his guests range from Penn Jillette and Rich- NORMAL THING TO DO
ard Dawkins across the board to Louis Ther- recording albums at the same time and he
oux and Roseanne Barr—it seems to be based finds that Motley Crue and Bob Rock (pro-
on whoever might be passing by on any given ducer) are using ProTools to make the Dr
day. That guy can interview the crap out of Feelgood album.
people—if you’ve never paid a visit—get it on. Steven: “When you get your shit done with
Anyway, there’s a segment in which Ste- ProTools, it ain’t you anymore. I’m from the
SION SMITH • EDITOR
ven is talking about being in Vancouver with [email protected]
old school where if you practice and you
Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) and how they were get good, you’re good! ProTools makes you
SATURDAY NIGHT
& SUNDAY MORNING
good—it can take your vocal and fix it. It can

take your drums and fix it to a grid…”
I won’t drag it out but the point is that when
you do that, there’s something missing—the
soul has gone from what you’re doing.
I leaned back in my chair and a lightbulb
went on and off in a flickering fashion be-
cause that’s what happens far too often in
tattooing. There are so many bands using
ProTools these days that everything is start-
ing to sound the same and I’ll throw onto the
table that the same thing is happening in tat-
tooing with PhotoShop.
There’s no question that it’s here to stay.
It’s probably heralded the biggest change in
tattooing since electric machines were in-
vented and it’s helped many, many artists to
become—frankly—great.
But at what cost?
There are two ways to look at it because
on the up-side (and hey, we’re all about the
upside) it’s made for some fantastic tattooing
over the years. On the downside—and I think
I can authentically say this from the point of
view of somebody that actually looks, rather
than scrolls through, hundreds of tattoos a
day—that there is indeed something missing. Marta Lipinski
Is it a good or a bad thing? I’m still wres-

tling with it truth be told. I think it might be SAILOR JERRY GOT BY WITHOUT
an age thing. IT AND HIS WORK IS STILL BEING
To a lot of people, it doesn’t even come
under the banner of black magic. To those PUSHED AROUND TODAY
people it’s a totally normal thing to do—just looking for tattoos with soul, the less things in between the brain/im-
another tool to get where they’re going and I agination and the hand, the better.
get that hook, line and sinker. It’s hard to make a ‘professional mess’ when you’re relying on a tool
That said, there’s a certain different kind of whose sole job is to eradicate mistakes based on, what is after all, a
magic that comes from art not being done in mathematical formula.
that way. When a computer isn’t involved at A good case in point for me is that back in the day, I used to create
all—and script tattoos are a fantastic exam- fanzines using scissors, glue, biros and anything else I could lay my
ple of this—you get something an awful lot hands on that could be destroyed and repurposed into something that
closer to art with soul and when you’ve been looked close to an original concept for my thoughts. Once I got my
around long enough, you can tell. hands on Quark/InDesign (the ProTools/PhotoShop of magazine lay-
As a music fan, I can tell the difference be- out), all that crazy stuff went out of the window: the tools are there to
tween those albums that have been fiddled lock you into being ‘professional’ about things and that’s not always a
with. As a tattoo fan, I can tell the difference good thing when your purpose in life is to stand out.
between Photoshop ideas and ideas that Sailor Jerry got by without it and his work is still being pushed
have been fired from the brain to the hand around today. You may or may not like his creations any more—may-
without the filter of a programme in between. be you never did—but you can’t deny them.
Like I said, there is no good and bad here. There’s a lot of food for thought in thinking about tattooing in this way.
It will be a generational thing, a professional To put it another way, as I like to do sometimes when I’m being awkward
thing, an availability thing… so many reasons and looking to make people think about what they do: If somebody turned
to use or not use it, but I gotta say, if you’re the power off, how much tattooing could you actually get done?
6 • SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE

The UK’s favourite
tattoo magazine is
available on iPad,
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devices
www.skindeep.co.uk
CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON
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* To see if your Android device is compatible with the app, download the free issue.
T H E WO M A N I N T H E W O O D S
Why do we define artistic success by online popularity?
F
or the tattoo industry in 2019, In-
stagram is everything. It’s the go-
to place if you want to discover
the latest work from artists. It’s
the platform on which creatives can easily
share their inspirations, work, prices, news,
ideas and more. Gone are the days of scrap-
books (or even those archaic things we called
websites), for many tattooists, the only last-
ing legacy of their art balances within the
four walls of a smartphone screen. For the
tattooed, it’s where we proudly display our
freshly-decorated frames for all to see - we
tell our tales passionately and publicly. A
simple tap shows our admiration of some-
thing. We rejoice. We get inspired. We come
together. We unite digitally as one enormous
ink-obsessed community. We feel we are
never alone.
With 500 million individual people log-
ging onto the popular social networking ser-
vice on a daily basis and a photo-led design
which appeals to most creative industries, it
doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to work out
why tattooing has found a second home over
on Instagram. Personally, it’s my primary
destination for tattoo exploration. But - and
here is my important question - when look-
ing for the best artist to carry-out your tattoo
job, do engagement rates correlate to quality
of work?
No, I believe what’s going on is more com-
plex. I could list dozens of tattooists who are
(in my opinion) at the top of their game yet
battling with declining social engagement,
Filip Fabian
others who are overwhelmed with Instagram
likes yet struggling to get real human beings a given time. I know many artists who feel
through their door, and some who are bask- they depend on social media engagement
ing in the glory of online compliments for de- in order to gain convention places, secure
signs that (again, in my opinion) are not very sponsorship and in general, feel noticed in a
well put-together or executed at all. crowded marketplace.
Can outstanding artists have few followers Creative minds all over the world spend a
and no digital feedback and - vice versa - can good amount of hours per day playing their
a well-branded popular profile racking up all necessary roles inside The Instagram Ma-
the ‘likes’, share shoddy work? Sadly, yes. trix when sometimes, they really just want
REBECCA GIVENS
Yet we still often find that apparent suc- to use that precious time to draw, create,
cess is determined by the number of peo- make or do. I could write a much longer arti-
ple who have double-tapped on a screen at cle about how Instagram affects not just cre-
8 • SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE

WE GET INSPIRED. WE
COME TOGETHER.
WE UNITE DIGITALLY
AS ONE ENORMOUS
INK-OBSESSED
COMMUNITY
ative minds but also our creative industry
on a larger scale, what it means for us that
we’re viewing these epic artworks through a
1,080 by 1,080 pixel square box. But for now,
I will say this…
If there was ever an artform that couldn’t
be defined by compressed images shown
through a screen, it would be tattooing,
something that has always stood for break-
ing free and leading the way, something that
continues to be difficult to define and catego-
rise, something that forges new relationships
between strangers, something that becomes
beautiful in its crazy, unpredictable, messi-
ness. The intricate depth of our artworks
knows no bounds - it stretches beyond the
pixelated box, not only to tattoo studios and
events all over the world, but to the inner,
most sacred spaces of people’s souls - those
who have put their everything into design-
ing these precious pieces and the collectors
whose motivation for wearing these painful
artworks goes more than skin deep. That im-
age that flies in and out of your feed in two
seconds doesn’t even skim the surface of
what the tattoo stands for, why it exists, how
it was created and what it will go on to do in
the future.
Real tattoos, they don’t sit well-branded, in
the right picture-perfect lighting, accompa-
nied by hashtags and comments from stran-
gers about how perfect they are, no… the
scabs and scars I know live and breathe in the
darkness of the real world, they are personal
and private, bleeding and fading, establish-
ing a relationship with their new human ‘till
death do they part. None of these things will
ever be successfully captured by an unreal
world that we hold between our fingers. No
matter how we progress technologically - tat-
toos will always remain far too intricate and
therefore impossible to be solely represented
by something as simple as a digital app. Our
roots run too deep underground, our stories
are too complex, and our community’s ability
to live and thrive outside of the constraints of
Filip Fabian
Instagram box will never waiver.
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DO OUR VERY BEST TO LET EVERYBODY ELSE KNOW ABOUT IT TOO. EMAIL: [email protected] OR IF YOU WANT TO
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WWW.TATTOOFREEZE.COM
WIN ONE OF FIVE PAIRS

OF TICKETS TO
TATTOO FREEZE 2020
2
019 sure flipped by in the blink of an eye huh?
Here we are staring down the barrel of Christ-
mas and some other festive type things, which
means Tattoo Freeze is just five minutes away.
Well… maybe a little longer than that but if you want
to impress the guy who works at the supermarket or the
girl who you think might be looking at you fondly from
behind the fish counter, it’s likely that some free tickets
to one of the years most fun tattoo shows will push you
a little further in the right direction.
We haven’t given anything away for a long time, so here
we are with a fistful (five pairs to be exact) of weekend
tickets for the entire weekend at Tattoo Freeze (Febru-
ary 1st/2nd, Telford International Centre).
All you have to do is head on over to skindeep.co.uk/
competitions and where it asks for your competition an-
swer, simply type TATTOO FREEZE and fill in the other
important stuff. We’ll choose the five winners before the
end of November.
Will we run another comp for it between now and the
event? Who knows. Best get your lucky pants on now just
to be sure.
10 • S K I N D E E P M A G A Z I N E
WORDS/IMAGES: Adriana de Barros
Scenes from
LONDON
TATTOO
CONVENTION
O
rganiser Miki Vialetto has created a convention that most tattooists crave to be a part of.
Situated at the Tobacco Dock in East London, the venue welcomed a monumental
crowd for all three days. We could easily see legendary tattooers like Doc Price, George
Bone, Jack Rudy, Filip Leu, Chris Garver, Tomas Tomas, and others. There were also
television celebrities like Ryan Malarkey, Oliver Peck and Teresa Sharpe tattooing in the booths; live
collaborative projects being done by Gakkin + Gordo Letters, Benjamin Laukis + Mayonaize, and a
glimpse of artists who rarely appear at conventions such as Pietro Sedda, Xoil, Lewisink, and Mambo.
The London Tattoo Convention has made it a priority to display A-list tattooing for viewers, show-
ing the diverse styles from all corners of the world, in addition to making it a versatile show with
live-music performances, fire dancers, and art exhibitions providing an action-packed spectacle of
talent in its 15th year of running.
S K I N D E E P M A G A Z I N E • 13
S C E N E S F R O M L O N D O N TAT T O O C O N V E N T I O N
ThE LaSt InTeRvIeW
wItH NoRm
“LoVe LeTtErS”
Words: Adriana de Barros • Images: Leslie Fernandes
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…
I
t was just two weeks before that I had talked it, so I tried to find somebody, and through friends
to him at the London Tattoo Convention, of friends I ended up with the most lunatic graffiti
where he was smiling and tattooing a walk- crew in Los Angeles (a couple of those guys had
in client, sitting in a tight booth next to just moved to San Francisco). They just showed
his friend, Grace Neutral. She sometimes called up at my house and I really didn’t know shit about
him Eric (his real name: Eric Rosenbaum), who anything; I just ended up with Fate, my best friend
was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, for 25 years now, and he ended up moving into my
and moved to the West Coast of California in the house two weeks later and I just wanted to emu-
1990s, and became a member of three distin- late and do all this crazy shit that these guys did.
guished graffiti crews: AWR, MSK, and TSL. And so me being, like, no art background or noth-
Norm spent his last year living-the-dream, ing, I just wanted to go out and paint illegal things.
traveling to tattoo events, bringing his graffiti- Write on stuff ... 'cause they were writing on crazy
and-Chicano-lettering style to locations like Chi- bridges, ledges and overpasses, and I saw that and
na and England. On the 7th of October, he com- I thought it was so cool.
mented: “I’m almost back from around the world. I literally put all this really terrible, whack graf-
Wanna thank everyone for making this amazing fiti on in the craziest places, so they would tell me,
trip”—he gave special thanks to Big Sleeps, El “You should quit, this is not for you, you’re a nice
Whyner, Miki Vialetto, Jack Rudy, and others. guy. Like, we can hang out, it’s cool, we’re friends.
Norm was grateful for the opportunities he had You don’t need to do graffiti 'cause your graffiti is
and the people in his life. Here’s what he had to say terrible.” And I just kept doing and doing it, until I
for himself just those few short weeks ago now: became decent at it.
You started doing graffiti in the late 90s. How Did you like the adrenaline of writing on
did you get involved in that scene? walls in dangerous places, like you could fall
I have liked graffiti throughout my whole life, like off a bridge?
in my young life I didn't know anything about it. Yeah, I loved every part of that. And back then I
When I moved to San Francisco, I had a piercing was junkie, so I was high as well, and then I’d be
shop and I wanted graffiti painted on the front of climbing on some crazy buildings in the middle
I fEeL lIkE gRaFfItI mAdE mE tHe pErSoN tHaT
I aM, wHeN I gO tO aNoThEr cItY, eSpEcIaLlY
oNe I hAvEn’t bEeN tO, I wAnT tO wRiTe mY nAmE
oN tHiNgS sO tHaT I cAn sHoW pEoPlE tHaT I’m
rElEvAnT, iLlEgAlLy
of the night and getting chased by the police, and I loved everywhere. I went to Brazil, guns. Like, I’m kind of stu-
all of it! And then I wake up the next day and go back to pid, so I still do the same things that I did when I was
get a photograph of it and that’s the best feeling ever. It’s younger, you know, 20 years ago. Because I feel like graf-
crazy because tattooing has given me that feeling, which fiti made me the person that I am, when I go to another
nothing else in life has ever given me the same feeling like city, especially one I haven’t been to, I want to write my
graffiti has. But when you see someone walk by with a tat- name on things so that I can show people that I’m rele-
too that you did, then it’s almost like a subway car driving vant, illegally. So, those things have consequences.
by with your name on it, and it’s pretty fucking awesome. Although now they call it ‘street art’ … it’s not the
Graffiti was mainly illegal 20 years ago, and as you same thing doing the legal walls, especially for those
mentioned, you had some situations with the cops then. who are from the underground culture.
Yeah. Pretty much everywhere I go in the world, even Yeah, legal walls are fun, if you want to paint with your
now, I have situations. I was in Mexico two months ago friends on a Sunday.
and I went to jail. Like Federales with guns, and its guns There is a different vibe to it.
Yeah, illegal graffiti and the feeling that you get from illegal graffiti, there’s
nothing even fucking close to it. Yeah, nothing!
You mentioned in a past interview that “stealing was a mandatory part
of the process of learning.” Would you do it again, or do regret stealing?
I don’t regret stealing at all. But ... when I started, probably for the first 10
years, stealing spray paint was always mandatory. They created those cages
at all the art stores because of us. You know, all the graffiti writers in the late
90s and early 2000s, we stole fucking everything. I would push out shopping
carts with 300 cans of paint in it and cover it up with Dickies. So I would push
out with all the paint and all my clothes for the week, and get chased, get beat
up, and arrested.
Spray cans are expensive.
Yeah, especially now it’s like 14 dollars for a can of paint. But now I’m 44. I
don’t feel guilty, I just feel stupid when I get caught. So, now I don’t do that as
much anymore. I’ll do a tattoo and then I’ll feel like, okay cool, I did this tattoo
and I’ll take that money and I’ll use it for spray paint; all right, I kinda traded
this tattoo for this paint. I have to rationalise it in my brain that I’m not spend-
ing money or else I’ll feel stupid.
Graffiti always stays the same. There's, you know, new people and new
things and the way things are done differently now in a way, but when you see,
especially when you see graffiti from people that are from that certain era—it
sticks out. Like, and that’s why I like about it so much.
Much has changed, in some countries like Portugal, they now have
“Street Art Tours.”
Yeah, I have seen the same. They have them here in England ... you can go see
a Banksy or go see this-and-that ... street art is selling for millions of dollars,
so it is what it is. That’s why I like the illegal—the illegal part of it. It’s free. You
know, you’re not getting paid for illegal graffiti, so it keeps it real, 'cause you do
it 'cause you want to and you risk something to do it.
How difficult was it transitioning from spray cans to tattoo machines?
It took me quite a while. I was told from my older friends that I’m gonna have
to give up painting graffiti for quite a while, 'cause I would always ask them,
“why don't you paint, why don’t paint?” And they’d say, “you’ll see when you
start tattooing, what happens.” And it’s true. In order to learn one thing, you
have to put your heart and soul into it, like 200%, especially tattooing or graf-
fiti. So I did, and then the hardest part was transitioning back to be able to
paint again. Because now I’m tattooing which is a whole other medium and
it’s super tight and everything is, like, perfect when graffiti is a little bit loose.
I still have trouble transitioning back and forth. I can go back and do cer-
tain things, but if I try to do something really tricky or cool that has influences
from tattooing in it, it’s really difficult and I have to work harder at it. I can’t
do illegal vandalism at night time and still have a great tattoo style. It’s com-
pletely different mediums, so it’s gonna be hard using the tools if you’re not
practicing constantly.
Now, on a legal note, if the organiser of the London Tattoo Convention
came up to you and said, “we have this wall outside and we want you to do
something amazing with spray cans,” would you accept that invitation?
Well with Miki Vialetto, I would accept anything that he would like me to do.
I’ll do 'cause he’s the man and this convention is my favourite place in the
world to come to. For him, yeah. You know, I did a legal job, like, some script
writing on a wall for a marijuana shop in Los Angeles; they wanted certain
things and I don’t want to do certain things, so if you have creative control and
you can do it, then yeah. I spent a couple of days doing something for them,
and it paid well and it was fine.
Legendary black-and-grey tattooists such as Charlie Cartwright and
Jack Rudy inspired your tattoo work. You did a t-shirt design with Jack
Rudy; was it a dream collaborating with him? So, I do a lot of satanic numeral things. He’s got very par-
Jack was here two years ago, and he’s my favourite tat- ticular ideas, so I’m just a vessel for him to be able to make
tooer there is, period, ever, and the coolest dude there is. the tattoos on himself. It’s always late nights, it’s always
He’s the fucking coolest dude with a K-O-O-L. He was good times with that dude. He’s a very fucking smart—he’s
here and he wasn’t tattooing, he was only doing drawings a genius.
for people. So, I’ve been asking him forever, will you do He is very smart.
t-shirt design for my shop? And he’s like, “Oh, yeah, yeah, Yeah, his music is amazing; he’s a fucking genius and it’s
sure sometime.” So, he was doing drawings for money, an honour and a privilege to be able to tattoo somebody
and I just gave him money. He’s like, “what do you want like that, and just hang out in a friendship realm, instead
me to draw for you?” I’m like, “I want our ‘love letters’ of just going to work with somebody for work. Like, he’s
written out." (Giggles.) He’s like, “Oh, motherfucker!” just a very fucking cool individual, I get along very well.
So, then, he’s like, “cool, I’ll get it to you later.” So then Manson has been clever transitioning into the
I came in the next day, and he had ended up going to the movie business. Some people don’t get him, or have a
hotel room and staying up all night making the sickest de- wrong perception of him—of his artistry and music.
sign for my shop, and bless me with it. Finally this year I However, he’s been able to keep a high-level of
printed it and it’s the coolest! For me, like in my career, artistry over time, as well as evolving the character
it’s the coolest thing in the world because then he came of Marilyn Manson.
over and saw it and was all jazzed about it. Without Jack Yeah, he’s a good actor, he’s funny as hell. He’s a great
Rudy, there is no me. painter. His music is sick and he’s always coming out with
For lettering tattoos—for me to be able to do what I new stuff. And I get to hear all this new stuff when tattoo-
wanted to do—Jack critiqued my work from the first year ing him, he’ll play me new albums.
I tattooed till five years later. Every single year at the So you’ve both become good friends.
same convention, he went through my portfolio for an Yeah, I consider him a friend of mine, and I think me
hour-and-a-half or more, and went through everything for him. He’s just wild and keeps you on your toes. To be
that I did and gave the sickest advice. around wild people like that, especially really smart ones
In addition to your acclaimed West-Coast-lettering that you look up to career-wise, because pushing forward
style, you sometimes do other stuff, like the session in any realm of art is hard; it’s hard to keep relevant at 50
you had with Marilyn Manson. What was it like years old, you know, like, after you’ve been doing it for–I
meeting and tattooing him? don't even know how long–30 years of making crazy shit.
Oh, he’s wild! He’s the coolest, he’s a very fucking awe- Like, how do you make crazy shit again next year?
some dude. The first time I met him, I did lettering on What other musicians have you tattooed?
him and that was cool. I don’t do a lot. I do more regular people, like blue-collar
Within your style? workers. Um, I used to tattoo Mac Miller, I did most his
Yeah, I did my style of lettering on the sides of his hands. tattoos before he passed away—rest in peace. He was a
I had to adjust and not make it too crazy, 'cause he said he great person and musician. I met him when his career
didn’t want. After that, we just became good friends, and started, I tattooed his first tattoo at 18. The people that I
now I kinda just do whatever tattoos he wants me to do. have worked with have been pretty fucking awesome!
In oRdEr tO lEaRn oNe
tHiNg, yOu hAvE tO pUt
yOuR hEaRt aNd sOuL iNtO
iT, lIkE 200%, eSpEcIaLlY
tAtToOiNg oR gRaFfItI
FREEDOM
How do you do to gather together 10 years of work in 90 photos ?

It’s Christophe (Escarmand), founder and editor of Noire Méduse, who did it.
Before, I already made a pre-selection, from the hundred thousands of photos
I had in stock. I liked the work he did on previous publications like La Veine
Graphique. He’s been in this culture for a long time now and he understands
it - unlike other editors.
Was the idea to do a complete and representative panorama of an era ?

No, we didn’t want to do like a Panini album in which we had to include required
people: Bill Salmon, Filip Leu, etc. There are other people who already did that
from an historical perspective, so that wasn’t necessary. None of these portraits
have been chosen because for aesthetic or graphic reasons, even though for me,
as a photographer, it has sometimes been difficult. The idea to compile those
meetings became obvious when we started to think of this project. They made
up my tattoo culture. Along with my photographs, my partner Laure
Siegel added her own words to tell about our adventures while working
together, like a logbook. Altogether, it is a very personal book.
How do these portraits connect with the title of the book Figures

of Freedom?
Christophe chose it. But my goal has always been to show the people,
before showing their tattoo. I especially think of the portrait I took of
a Teddy Boy in Long Beach, in California, Gregory Waine Rossel. The
first thing that you see, even though he has his face tattooed, is his eyes.
My choice for using black & white is not innocent, it breaks some kind
of filter that can be the ink. It helps to share what I felt when I shot him,
this thing in the guts that makes the meeting a strong moment or not.
That is what you consider a good portrait ?

Yes, when I succeed in capturing someone’s aura.
What is the common point between all

these people ?
Tattooed, pioneers, performers, etc, they have
something to say. I think of Ernesto Kalum,
or Danny Garcia that we met in Turkey. I was
especially moved by him, by his commitment
when he opened his shop to tattoo freely pro-
testing tattoos at a dramatic time for his coun-
try. Nepal has also been a very strong episode,
when collectives emerged after the earthquake
(2015) during the tattoo convention in Kath-
mandu to bring some help for reconstruction. I
am especially sensitive to activism. We wanted
to show that tattooing is not only ink under the
skin. It is not an insignificant act.
i am especially
sensitive to activism.
we wanted to show
that tattooing is
not only ink under
the skin. it is not an
insignificant act
danny garcia: i was especially moved by him, by his
commitment when he opened his shop to tattoo freely
protesting tattoos at a dramatic time for his country
You were saying that these people
made up your tattoo culture…
Yes, at different levels. There are peo-
ple like Duncan X, whose commitment
and activism is striking, but also, there
are contexts. I especially think of the
portrait of Quentin (Inglis, piercer at
Kalima, Worthing), for example. The
day before I shot him he did this Sak
Yant on the throat as a symbol of pro-
tection, and the next day it is the end of
the world. Of course, there is Reynald
(tattooer at Asphalt Jungle, in Stras-
bourg France) who appears in the end
of the book. He is the starting point of
everything. He tattooed my first arm,
he made me discover the tattoo cul-
ture and he made me start. When I was
a beginner as a photographer, what I
liked most were bands. I would have
never thought to do portraits. Because,
for someone introverted like me, the
meeting is something complicated.
But he asked me to shoot some of his
clients and he gave me his confidence.
Who are the other meetings you remember specifically?

Ernesto Kalum (BorneoHeadHunter, Kuching, Malaysia), who
we met by accident. We asked him for 20 minutes and we stayed 7
hours with him. A time during which he gave us all the ethnological,
political and symbolical keys to understand Iban tattooing properly. Incredible moments.
We got out of the interview and we needed months to digest all of it. I will keep some of his
phrases forever with me. This journalistic and photographic work that we do with Laure, is
somehow a pretext to spend those kind of moments, with people who pass us something. In
the rock’n’roll world, I met a lot of great people, but in terms of authenticity, it is in tattooing
that I really found what I needed.
How far does your interest in tattooing date back?

When I was a kid, I was playing in rock bands and tattooing was already here. We would
see it in concerts, in festivals, but also thanks to some media, and especially MTV. I had
been exposed to that in the beginning of the 80’s. It reminds me of the interview with
a tattoo pioneer – was it Bill Salmon?- in which he was saying that at the time, he was
watching this channel with a notebook in hand, writing down every appearance of a
band having tattoos. After an hour, it was full! MTV was one of the first to give visibility
to tattoos, through TV shows like “Headbanger’s Ball”. It’s a little bit of something from
the white middle-class, but that’s a fact.
When did you get your first tattoo?

I was 27. At the time, I was working in a photo lab, but with all the technological develop-
ment, the labs didn’t have any future and I wanted to leave. Strangely, tattooing helped
me… to be fired! My boss at the time didn’t like tattoos at all and when I got back from
Reynald’s tattoo shop with my arm done, she got mad. It was inconceivable for her that
I work with customers. I had to wear long sleeves shirts…
And then you were telling me that, retrospectively, you documented the
democratisation of tattooing.
We started at the moment it exploded. But our goal was origi-
nally to highlight the artistic aspect, that was not so much well
perceived still. There was the work but also the people with an
approach, a vision; we wanted to give them some exposure. 20
years ago, tattooing still had a very negative image.
What is your vision of tattooing?

It helps me to mark chapters of my life. I still want to get tat-
tooed but now that I met so many talented people, I’m espe- Figures of Freedom
is available from Noire
cially thinking of Lean Nahon or Dimitri HK (Saint Germaine Méduse Editions:
en Laye, France), it’s hard to make a choice! noire-meduse.com
BACKPIECES
& BODYSUITS
AND OTHER
LARGE-SCALE TATTOOS
DISCOVERED AT RICHMOND TATTOO,
ARTS & MUSIC FESTIVAL
PHOTO: KEN PENN
WORDS: Sion Smith
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…
WHEN I WALK AROUND THE STREET, I
HAVE SO MANY INDIRECT INFLUENCES
AND INPUT WHICH COME TO ME
FROM THE WORKS OF THE ART THAT
SURROUND ME
I did a little trip back in time here and found that
you were first featured in Skin Deep back in issue
160 (which was May 2008). Since then, we have
published almost 150 other issues and 11 and a half
years has passed us all by. That’s a long time in the
world of tattooing—and for a tattoo artist such
as yourself, a lot of things can happen. You were
great back then and had already been tattooing for
a decade, but in 2008, there weren’t many artists
working with realism in a way that actually looked
all that real. Has it been hard to stay at the front of
the pack now the world has become flooded with
realism artists? Do you even think about it like that?
It's right what you say. When I started to deal with real-
istic tattooing it was the beginning of 2000 and no other
tattooist in Italy was this kind, very few in the world were
working in this style and besides, the equipment, ma-
chines, aftercare and colours were not of high quality.
For me it was not difficult to always be at the top, my
desire to always be a 'number one’ distinguishes me. I
also say that luck has always been on my side! Since 2008,
so many important events have happened for me: a tel- I absolutely agree with you. Having chosen the realistic
evision advertising spot with Gigi Buffon for Mastercard, style even though there was no one in Italy to do it, it was
meeting with fabulous people like Tramp (owner of Eter- extremely natural ... in fact I like to think that it is Real-
nal) and Damian McGrath, the editor of tattoos.com and ism that has chosen me.
organiser of the Nix Show in Toronto. I’ve done seminars When I walk around the street, I have so many indirect
around the world: Australia, America, India and Europe influences and input which come to me from the works
with the greatest artists who have inevitably become my of the art that surround me. Realism belongs to me as
friends and I am often guest to Paul (Booth) at Last Rites. a child. I have always drawn faces and animals. When a
All of these things have given me energy to stay at very person leaves me free to express myself, a dark side of
high levels but then I also have a competitive nature and me emerges where I can express myself with contrasts
I always want to perform perfect works on the skin. of light and shadows with three-dimensional subjects of
One of the most important thing in my journey though emotional impact.
are the customers who take airplanes from all over the
world to get my tattoos and leave me free to choose beau- Many years ago, you introduced the world of
tiful subjects, so I am free to express my ever-evolving tattooing to your ‘magnetic’ style. Did it become an
technique and creativity. industry standard—and have others pushed it away
from what you had intended and made it better (or
I think one of the hugely important things in worse!) for everybody working in that field?
tattooing is often overlooked. When I look at Yes, the ‘magnetic’ is a style that I invented years ago. I
Robert Borbas’s work, you can see the influence wanted to enhance the central subject that is for example
of the ‘darkness’, the environment of his part of a face, trying to adapt it to the part of the body I was tat-
Europe—and he told me as much himself. I think tooing and with futuristic light effects and fractals I was
the same goes for a lot of Italian artists who work in able to create a modern effect.
realism—from a very young age, you are surrounded It was copied by many tattooists. Unlike my other col-
by an almost ‘supernatural’ amount realism in the leagues, it gives me great pleasure to be copied and when
shape of sculpture and portraits that few people can they imitate and copy my tattoos, it means that I am an
even come close to in 2019. I think realism can be example to them. If we think that I invented it in 2005
taught but for some of you out there—particularly where only traditional portraits were performed, I am
Italians—it’s also deep inside your soul from proud of it! Today I always try to get closer to the future
childhood. Would you agree with that? by studying 3D works that replace my Magnetic.
IT GIVES ME GREAT PLEASURE TO BE
COPIED AND WHEN I SEE IMITATIONS
AND COPIES OF MY TATTOOS, IT MEANS
THAT I AM AN EXAMPLE TO THEM
I think a lot of people—tattooers included—often When I first began to look at realism tattoos
look at those who have ‘made it’ and think you properly, it was hard to see how they could get
have a wonderful life… and maybe you do, because any better. But then they did. And when they did,
tattooing is a beautiful thing, but a life on the road I thought the same again: “realism cannot get any
can become a wicked mistress. Do you travel as better than this”. And yet again, it did! Do you
much as you used to? Have you found a need to think we’ve reached the end of how much it can
travel even more than you used to or have you found advance—or are there still other things in play like
a way to stay home more often to get your work done increasingly better inks and machines that could
and pick your conventions wisely to stay sane? assist with pushing it even further along?
I always like traveling. It is a wonderful part of my life and In reality, the top has been reached. Today there is a wide
my work. I get so many invitations for conventions but I choice of colours, very light machines and even anaes-
choose the most special and best, non-commercial and in thetic creams but the most important thing in play here
places I've never seen. I like to interact with cultures that is Photoshop along with the various photo-editors and
are completely different from mine even for inspiration. filters used in social media, so today it is difficult to un-
I love traveling and will continue to travel forever. I like derstand the true value of some artists.
traveling by plane, I like to taste different foods and some- Before digital tools were everywhere, the tattoo world
times I exaggerate then with the spicy and then I'm sick. was more ‘true’. Today, in social media with these new
Sometimes I go away from Italy and for a month, I tools like Photoshop and however many filters there are
make many trips from one country to another, like Ita- out there, some not so talented tattoo artists may seem
ly-Toronto, Toronto-Bahamas, Bahamas-New York and good when they’re not. In my opinion, what makes a tat-
then I return to my Atelier in Italy but always always to too artist talented is their story. What they managed to
work because I like the idea of traveling for work. change by increasing the artistic level in the tattoo, their
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN
PLAY TODAY IS PHOTOSHOP—IT IS
DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THE
prizes won at the best conventions, their interviews and
publication of their work in magazines–who are still the
TRUE VALUE OF SOME ARTISTS
gatekeepers to quality in the field. With only social media, For those who haven’t been in the game as long
people can no longer understand who is really talented. as you, is there any advice you can hand out that
you wish you had been told? I am no tattooer, but
On the first part of that, where we talking about tattooing from a different perspective is my life
inks, I hear great things about your inks at Eternal. too and my advice would be to spend at least ONE
That must feel like a real win, a huge step in being YEAR of learning how to draw FINGERS properly
validated by your industry to have a range of inks with a pencil before you even try to tattoo them!
with your name on them. I see so many great tattoos spoiled by fingers that
I was the only Italian artist to have created a set of col- look like a bunch of bananas.
ours with the largest and most important house for the Hahaha–in fact, the hands are one of the most complicated
production of tattoo inks in the world. During my semi- things to draw and obviously to tattoo. The tattoo is often
nars, many tattoo artists asked me how to make various commercial and many people want to become tattooists
skin tones. Only those who paint portraits in oil on canvas without having studied the techniques of drawing and/or
know what colours to mix to obtain skin-coloured tones. having done the apprenticeship in a professional studio.
That’s something to think about isn’t it. With Tramp in This is why you see fingers like bananas! The perspective
Detroit at the Eternal production site–a paradise for and proportions are often wrong–it is unthinkable to me
every artist–we studied the best shades and it was a great to be able to tattoo well without knowing how to draw but
success, so many artists wrote words to thank me in help- unfortunately the ability to draw is an innate gift.
ing to facilitate their work in colour realism. There are always people who are not interested though
It's a very successful set and I'm honoured. and have crap on skin to pay for it.
You obviously have a grand understanding of faces
and the way living things are “put together”. I guess IT IS UNTHINKABLE TO ME TO BE ABLE
that comes with time and experience but do you TO TATTOO WELL WITHOUT KNOWING
prefer humans or animals for your work?
I love all animals. I have a white Arabian horse and at the HOW TO DRAW BUT UNFORTUNATELY THE
weekend when I can, I ride with my horse in the woods. I
also adopted a small Sicilian wolf called Alfio. In the faces
ABILITY TO DRAW IS AN INNATE GIFT
of animals, nature has been generous painting them as As always—it’s been a pleasure to sit with you and
works of art. look at your work! Any exciting projects across the
Sometimes though, I often don't want to make tattoos near future?
that do not reflect my style because they go against my This year, I will be attending the Nix Tattoo Show in To-
moral principles. For example, when I was asked by a ronto with my seminar, I will continue with my travels
hunter to reproduce a photo of a bear he had as a trophy, and I am planning an important project but I would like
I refused. Then again, I also like intense and expressive to keep it secret for good luck!
faces! The important thing is the quality and high defini- Thanks for this interesting interview—and as I always
tion of the photographs that the clients offer me. say: when I tattoo I leave a part of myself!
in the land of cats kiera_tattoo
Take one look at Kiera’s work and you’ll quickly notice a

common thread running through her portfolio: cats. Lots of
‘em. Although the traveling artist didn’t plan to specialise in
sassy kittens (yes, she tattoos other designs too), they’ve pretty
much taken over her professional life. Whether it’s a Chinese
opera cat, a feline in full Gundam costume or a tabby that’s
ready to go snorkelling, Kiera’s inked cats are guaranteed to
charm you and steal your heart... even if you’re a dog person
Words: Barbara Pavone
36 • S K I N D E E P M A G A
Kiera doesn’t sit still for very long. In the last few Especially since she can’t have a real one. Believe it
months alone, she’s worked in four different countries or not, Kiera is actually allergic to cats. “Cats are my fa-
— South Korea, England, the Netherlands and Germany vourite animal, so it’s a bit sad,” she starts, then laughs,
— and six different cities — Seoul, London, Watford, Am- “Instead of having a cat, I draw them and look at so many
sterdam, Berlin and Essen — and she’ll soon be on the cute cat pictures online! I’m a crazy cat lady who’s not ac-
move again. But there is one constant in her life: cats. tually a crazy cat lady.”
She didn’t set out to become a feline tattoo special-
ist, but her adorable designs, which are full of catitude, searching for happiness
quickly began to inspire a growing fan base and spark de- Just like she didn’t plan to focus on cat-centric work, Ki-
mand around the world. “I do other animals as well, but era didn’t originally plan to become a tattoo artist either.
most people ask me for cats,” she says and that’s just fine Having graduated from university with a degree in prod-
with her. “That’s what I enjoy drawing the most, so I’m uct design, she was sure that would be her path in life. “I
happy to tattoo lots of cats,” she enthuses. was a product designer and had plans to work for a design
Kiera On… Tattooing
In Melbourne company in Hong Kong, but after I finished the “Tattooing seems to be one of the few profes-
“I’m not too sure what interview with them, I decided it was not what I sions in which I can be free to draw and be crea-
the current trends are
in Melbourne tattooing wanted to do,” she recalls. tive. Tattooing has more freedom,” she elabo-
because I never did So she searched for alternatives. At one point rates. “I can really draw and express myself and
many walk-in tattoos —
almost all of the tattoos she was an art teacher, at another she worked do something I find fun.”
I have done have been as an industrial engineer, but those careers “I don’t have much knowledge on tattoo cul-
my custom designs
— but Melbourne simply didn’t satisfy her either. That’s when ture and its history — I just like drawing,” she
customers are so nice, she found tattooing. admits, adding, “Tattooing was a very foreign
and very open to ideas. I
really enjoy tattooing in
“I enjoy drawing and art has been something concept to me growing up.”
Melbourne — it’s lovely.” I have done since I was young,” she explains. Even so, as a teen, Kiera decided she want-
ed one. “The first time I noticed tattoos was when I was of tattooing,” she continues. “Then I moved to Korea and
around 16 and an English band I was a fan of at the time worked in a studio for a few months, learning there.”
had tattoos,” she says. “I thought it was cool and I remem- “My visa ran out in Australia — that’s the only reason I
ber thinking, ‘When I’m older, I would like a small tattoo.’” left Melbourne and went to Korea,” she reveals. “When
What she didn’t think about was picking up a machine I was in Korea, I was just learning to tattoo, doing lots of
and learning to tattoo. That decision came spontaneous- drawings. The law in Korea can be strict with tattooing,
ly when she found herself living in Melbourne, Australia so it was a little scary,” she remembers. “After that I came
for three years. “In the beginning, I was self-taught,” she back to Australia and that’s when I would say I really
says, recalling a time when she was just tattooing friends. started tattooing.”
“It was really difficult to start alone with no knowledge “The first real studio I worked in, however, was a studio
Kiera On… Her
Tattoo Style
In trying to describe
Kiera’s tattoo style,
words like ‘kawaii’,
‘colourful’ and ‘sassy’
come to my mind,
but when I ask Kiera
to sum up her own
aesthetic, she admits,
“I’m not sure. People
say Japanese or neo-
traditional, but I just
draw what I like, then
I tattoo it. So lots of
cats!” she laughs.
in Okinawa, Japan called Mustang Tattoo,” she adds. “I’m “I don’t want to travel so much, actually,” she admits. “I
actually guesting there now while I reply to this interview!” just want to find somewhere nice to settle down that has
good weather and where I can tattoo. That’s my goal, so
searching for home hopefully I will find somewhere while I travel.”
While she does sometimes return to her artistic roots — So far, Melbourne has been her favourite. Maybe it has
“I did enjoy design work and have occasionally done de- something to do with the fact that “Australia was the first for-
sign projects, so if you walk around Melbourne you might eign country I lived in” or maybe it’s that the “people are kind
see some of my design work in the wild!” — Kiera is now and gentle. My clients were lovely and it’s a positive place,”
fully immersed in tattooing. Still, she finds ways to inte- she reminisces. “It was sad to leave there. If I could, I would
grate her past into her present. like to stay there, but it’s easier said than done.”
In fact, the time she spent in school studying product Luckily, she still has some amazing cities on her travel
design has proven quite valuable in her new career. “I wish list, each with the potential to capture her heart. At
think tattooing has many similar aspects to product de- the top is “Vancouver! I want to visit there soon since I’ve
sign,” she notes. “I work with a client to produce some- heard lots of good things,” she gushes. In second place is
thing that they are happy with, but also have to incor- “somewhere nice in Italy” and at number three is Mos-
porate my own ideas and creativity to make it work. cow, Russia. Asked where home is now, she tells me, “At
Tattooing is art but it’s also design. I have to be flexible the moment, there is no home.”
sometimes to work with customers’ ideas.” Aside from all of the time she spends drawing cats
It may have taken some time for Kiera to find her path, and making her way around the globe, Kiera’s schedule
but it’s clearly the right one. Look at her tattoo schedule is currently filled with “watching Game of Thrones. I’m
and you’ll see that she's in a different country nearly a bit late to it,” she says, adding, “I like to just relax and
every month and she’s always booked solid. But despite do nothing, actually.” As for what’s next, you can expect
her success as a traveling artist, she doesn’t want to stay “lots of tattooing and traveling until I find somewhere I
on the road forever. can settle down and relax!”
WWW.TATTOOFREEZE.COM
AL KINSELLA • BELLY BUTTON
BEN McCLAY • DEL MAY • HOLLIE MAY WALL
LUKAS MELCHER • LUKE ASHLEY • MEGAN SMITH
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[email protected]
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DEL MAY INSTAGRAM.COM/BLACK_MARKET_TATTOOS
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ROBERTO POLIRI INSTAGRAM.COM/ROBERTO_POLIRI_TATTOOER
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[email protected]
The
of the
Matter
It’s not hard to get ahead in tattooing and carve a real niche
for yourself—all you have to do is be great. Pretty simple huh.
Which means all the work actually takes place in all that time
before you become great. It’s a lethal equation any way you slice
it and almost impossible to master—still, that doesn’t stop many
from putting one foot in front of the other along the way: being better
tomorrow than they were today and one of those is Dave Valentine:
@davevalentinestattoos • email: [email protected] • nrstudios.co.uk
B
ack in May this year, Dan Jordan from Starr got
himself tattooed by Dave at the Great British
Tattoo Show. He decided to use his time wisely
and spent the entire time in the chair asking
some damn good questions. It’s a great piece and there’s
much to learn here—not just about Dave himself, but also
about what it’s like to be a tattooer in 2019 who came up
through the ranks.
When did you start tattooing?
I finished my apprenticeship around 7 years ago so that’s
where I consider the start of my career from, although I
first tried tattooing at around 16. Obviously, I didn’t have a
clue what I was doing so I waited until I could learn prop-
erly, but it shows how early I was set on taking that path.
What was the routine of your apprenticeship? Did
you begin tattooing only on fake skin or starting
only on client’s legs?
To be fair, I didn’t tattoo anything for a long time and in-
stead was the owners skivvy, which consisted of washing his seaside studio, situated and remembered mainly for tra-
dishes, cleaning the bathrooms repeatedly and making the ditional and standard flash, so that’s what I learnt first.
tea. Something I know a lot of people would understand. I’ve always had an interest in the darker areas of art,
When I did finally start tattooing it was with pig skin as well as a love for black work and neo-traditional, and
briefly, followed by working with the same 2 clients re- sooner or later they all just ended up coming together, and
peatedly. A male and female, both with separate inter- now you can see elements of each style in my own work.
ests which gave me the opportunity to practice different
styles and mediums before starting with the public.
And is that how your black work style started to
To anyone really looking
take shape? to become a tattoo artist
I’ve far from crafted my style and like everyone I’m learn-
ing more every day, but I’m happier now with how I’m
I would say firstly, be
progressing than I ever have been. I learnt in an old school willing to travel
Well whether it’s neo-traditional, portraits
or animal pieces, your black work seems to be
very consistent. Would you put that down to the
consistency of the inks you use?
I primarily use the Classic Black and Empire Grey Shad-
ing inks, and the Empire White. Empire inks are without
a doubt the most solid and true black that I’ve used in
over 7 years of tattooing, and it heals that way too.
To have the ink heal so dark, I would have expected it to If you wanted to be a
be fairly thick and difficult to apply, but it is just as easy to
use as any of its competitors, with far better results than
tattoo artist, honestly,
a lot of them. From the moment you apply the grey shades now’s the time for sure
you can see that they are darker than most, and if you’re
not confident in your application I would advise starting Although I mainly work black and grey, using this ma-
your first test with lighter tones first! chine accompanied by ghost cartridges causes no prob-
The white being the thickest of the set still applies ex- lem working with different mediums. I’d recommend this
tremely easily, without going dry quickly in the cartridge, to anyone that likes pens or wants to achieve a smoother
and holds as strong as the dark tones, making this a must application, and at the low price it is, it’s hardly a gamble.
buy with the rest of the inks. For the style I do, or any Same goes for Ghost Cartridges. The tattoo industry
black and grey artist that’s looking for a striking, lasting gets more expensive every day and if we could save a lit-
depth to their tattoos for that matter, I would recom- tle money without any difference made to our work, then
mend Empire to anyone. why wouldn’t we? I started using Ghost Cartridges when
And do you usually keep to the same machine and they first launched and was originally drawn to them by
cartridge set up too? the artwork in their promotion… and the crazy low price!
I currently have a black and a limited-edition gold Reap- From the moment I used them I wondered why they
er, which I was honoured to help with the artwork for. Af- were so much cheaper than their competitors, when
ter the release of the Red Spectre it was quick to become their use was just as good than all of them, and even bet-
my primary machine, but after the release of the Reaper I ter than some. Other than helping with my general appli-
haven’t looked back since. The machine runs quietly and cation and confidence, I have never had a fault with them,
smoothly and unlike many other pen machines can push and have converted numerous people from other leading
liners with ease. brands to these and continue to do so daily.
So, it seems like you’ve got your setup and style be a no but at least you can say you’ve done everything
going in the direction you want. What would your you needed to and tick that studio off the list.
advice be for someone looking to get into tattooing? It sounds like you learnt a lot during your
To anyone really looking to become a tattoo artist I would apprenticeship! Who did you have as your tutor
say firstly, be willing to travel. when you were an apprentice?
I wasted a lot of time looking for an apprenticeship by The studio I worked in, although situated for 25 years,
expecting one to come up in my hometown, which one wasn’t the best studio by a long shot, but I was very lucky
never did. If you can’t find one where you are you need to be there for the same duration that there was a Polish
to be willing to travel somewhere else. That will show the portrait artist working there too. Due to the owner al-
want and intent to learn. ready having an apprentice I was passed to this artist and
Also having a portfolio of artwork will help you stand worked and learned from him for 2 years.
out above the rest. There are many people looking out Working with him was basically where my interest in tat-
there, going door to door with nothing to show. If this tooing women's faces came from, as well as portrait and re-
sounds like you then you need to rethink your approach. alism in general. It was the owner that kept my interest in
You may be a lovely person and a delight to be around but traditional and black work alive, and the two people togeth-
that doesn’t mean you have what it takes or make the art- er hugely influenced what styles I include in my work today.
ist you’ve approached psychic to your ability. Going forward, do you have any goals or milestones
Go in there and show them what you can do. It may still you’d like to achieve, or maybe even different styles
I don’t know many other industries in their clients
would travel a vast distance to have the work done
by that specific artist
you’d like to move into or be introduced to? to have a good time. The venue itself really stands out to
I have many goals I’d like to achieve in my career. I’d like to me, the reason being that I can’t imagine a venue like Al-
have my work and application recognisable to other artists exandra Palace to allow a tattoo convention to take place.
around the world. To meet my influencers, collaborate with I always feel incredibly blessed to stand beneath the stain
amazing people, and watch the people around me progress glass windows and meet the artists that have travelled all
as I am, such as my hard-working partner and apprentice. around the world to be there.
One day I’d love to have people looking towards me to be Cornwall because of the friends, organisers and how
influenced the same way that I am by others every day. close to home it feels. We’ve been there since the first
One way you can meet influencers is through show and it’s humbling to see what they have achieved in
conventions and touring around which you such a short time.
certainly do! Do you have any favourite conventions Do you find it difficult to adapt to new trends within
in particular? tattooing such as new additions to supplies, a prime
My favourite shows in our experiences so far would be the example being the sudden increase in available
Great British tattoo show and Cornwall tattoo con. Great CBD products?
British because the venue is beautiful, the people that Well I tend to stick to brands I know and trust but I’m
work there are lovely and the organisers want everyone willing to try new additions to their ranges. I used the new
What else do you use online other than Instagram?
I’d say realistically I mainly just use Instagram. I used
to use Facebook as well, but in my own experiences I’ve
noticed that most of the negativity is shared among Face-
book and all the positive seems to be on Instagram. I still
admire Facebook for what it is but personally I do all my
communication and promotion through Instagram.
How many clients do you think you pick up through
Instagram then?
Lots! Honestly lots! We’ve been invited to Amsterdam,
Portugal even Canada to go and work with one of the art-
Butterluxe CBD balm at The Great British Tattoo Show ists I’ve admired for years. I’d have never had that oppor-
this year (2019). Before using the CBD balm, I wasn’t ex- tunity without using Instagram. In some cases, I’ve seen
pecting too much of a difference from the normal balms, people paying to use apps that only do half of what Insta-
but I stand corrected. gram and other social networking sites can do and it’s just
During use, it broke down easily on skin, helped glide insane. If you wanted to be a tattoo artist, honestly, now’s
without making the area too greasy, helped prevent inflam- the time for sure.
mation throughout and I can only assume overall helped The virality of tattooing and other creative
ease the process for the client also. My client used the balm artforms and how easily they can be seen by
throughout the healing process and gave it positive reviews thousands of people is incredible isn’t it?
throughout. I have and will use the product again and would I think it’s amazing to see that someone that is complete-
strongly recommend it to anyone that hasn’t tried it yet. It ly unknown to the public as doing good work every day
might just be the thing you’re missing from your daily set up. can struggle to break through in gratification on a large
Social media has also become a big trend within the scale, and then one day do one specific tattoo that will put
tattoo community. Are you using the likes of Instagram them out in the industry eye line.
for promoting work and staying in touch with clients? I’ve followed artists with only a couple thousand fol-
I use it for all of the above really. I think it’s crazy that to- lowers that then suddenly, a couple weeks later is in the
day we can have a portfolio that can be viewed all around 50/60 thousands. It's also great to see that if you receive
the world, and we’re using it for free. You can admire art- negativity on any of your photos it’s generally construc-
ists when you first started tattooing and never expect to tive and makes you strive to do better the next time, and
one day be in a position to meet them, but then in today’s people still show appreciation for your efforts, even if you
times to be able to communicate with them on a daily ba- didn’t quite achieve what you were trying too. Always our
sis using Instagram is just insane! biggest critics are ourselves.
There’s plenty of spaces to get inspiration through
other artists and studios but is there anyone who
stands out for you the most for inspiration?
All that matters is
As you say I have numerous influences that stand out to that you’re doing your
me, and I’m thankful for anyone I’ve had the opportunity
to work with in the past, as they all helped me in my jour-
best. The only time you
ney so far. But more relevant to me at the moment would
be ‘613tattoo’ for black work and portrait, Luke Beddows
should have any doubt in
for traditional, the people/friends we get to work along- yourself is if you’re not
side at conventions, and my partner for the effort and
time she puts into her apprenticeship on a daily basis, and Being an established artist and a fan of body art,
also the artists that I am lucky to work with at NR inspire you’ve got experience on both sides of the needle.
me to do better every day too. What do you feel is the best way for yourself or a
A friend of mine passed away last year early into his ca- client to sit through being tattooed?
reer following an RTA, and now more than ever he drives For me when I’m getting tattooed, I prefer to watch it.
me to learn more every day and tattoo as if it was your Watching a film, talking to someone or listening to music
last, knowing that one day you might not be here, and that is always a huge help, but I think being able to see the tat-
tattoo will be the last thing you leave here on earth. We all too being done is a huge help. There’s less unknown as to
miss you dearly Jordan. where that artists needle is going, or what they are doing,
and I think that makes a big difference. I think we can all
agree that tattooing gets worse the older you get, so get
your sensitive areas done early if you can, because by that
logic I’m buggered.
You’ve given us a lot of insight into your tattooing
career. But, plain and simple, why are you a
tattoo artist?
I have always loved and appreciated art. My biggest influ-
ence has always been and always will be my mum. From
young I knew I wanted to be an artist with freedom to
experiment in style, but I didn’t know what. But putting
tattoos on people and seeing them years later, still happy
with the tattoo, is an incredible feeling.
There are few industries that are like ours, and I don’t
know many others where their clients would travel a vast
distance to have the work done by that specific artist. I got
bad grades in school, but I knew I wanted to do something
with art anyway, so I didn’t really go away from the idea
and tattooing was always there for me.
Even after going through an awful addiction where I
made a lot of mistakes including nearly losing my life and
delayed my learning dramatically, tattooing (obviously
among other things) was there to put me back on track
and get me to where I am today, and I’d never look back.
If there's something you’d like to say to the whole
tattooing community what would it be?
We’ll be learning and bettering our styles until the day
that we retire, so just focus on you and where you are in
the industry. We’ve all taken help and handouts to help us
in our progression, so don’t be any different.
I was helped throughout my career by my mum, step-
dad and my partner, and I wouldn’t be anywhere with-
out the help of them, my sponsors or anyone else I have
worked with or been alongside in the past.
There will always be people to talk negatively, look
down on you or make you feel like you’re not doing as well
as you think you are, but all that matters are that you’re
doing your best. The only time you should have any doubt
in yourself is if you’re not.
Dave Valentine tours regularly throughout the UK and currently works as a resident artist at NR Studios in Exeter. To get booked in with Dave contact him through
Instagram @davevalentinestattoos or email him at [email protected]
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 second-
generation tattooist, the many layers behind his own boundary-pushing
body-suit and what it truly means to live outside of jurisdiction
WORDS: James Musker
AS A SECOND-GENERATION TATTOOIST, CAN YOU SPEAK ON YOUR FIRST MEMORIES OF THE

CRAFT? CAN YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME YOU WERE TRULY STRUCK BY A TATTOO?
As far back as I remember, I’ve always been stuck on
tattooing. Everyone had tattoos in my family—from my
grandma to all my parent’s friends, and when my father
decided to start tattooing in the 90‘s, it was this situ-
ation where I just had to do it, too. To get hold of some
machines, my father got tattooed, and at the end of the
session, he just stole all of the guy’s materials and took
them back to his neighbourhood, Sarcelle, in France near
Paris—such a place, trust me!
He tattooed all of his old friends for about a month be-
fore retiring to the South of France to open his own shop.
He wanted to call the shop ‘The Metro’, and so he decided
to steal some signs from the Parisian underground for the
place. Of course, he got arrested and ended up in jail for a
few days, but he ended up opening the shop with my god-
father. They used to make Spanish tapas downstairs and
tattoo upstairs. He mostly tattooed sailors and drunks,
and at that point I was 10-years-old. I was there every day
after school. I knew it was my thing right from the start.
So, when I was 12, I did my first line with a machine. I was
amazed, but life followed, and it was what it was.
Everything broke down. I ended up living on Reunion
Island on my own for a year, and when everything got too
I‘m not here to take the machine in your hand. You
have to do this on your own
fucked up there, my father put me on a plane and brought at making them. The most difficult part for me was the
me to New Caledonia where I finally started to commit social aspect of the process, and at that point I didn’t see
to tattooing for real at 18-years-old. My first tattoo was myself doing it forever. I fell in love with a girl, and she
a Polynesian swastika on my dad, but of course I blacked was planning on moving to Australia, and so I took that as
out the wrong part! an opportunity for change. I moved, and ended up work-
CAN YOU SPEAK ON YOUR FIRST FEW YEARS SPENT COMMITTED TO TATTOOING? ing with Paul Brannif on the Australian Gold Coast. He
I guess I wasn’t that bad from the beginning, because I took me in and gave me the opportunity to work for him.
was quickly left alone at the shop—making all of the tat- Unfortunately, things got pretty fucked up real quick, so
toos while my father was fishing on his boat. It was fun, I moved back to New Caledonia, and as an old-school tat-
but nothing romantic or interesting. I was just doing my tooer, when I came back it was all, “No, man! You moved!
thing. People wanted Polynesian tattoos, and I was good You moved! You can‘t come back!” I decided I was just go-
If you want to tattoo, tattoo! That‘s the secret
ing to do my own thing, because all that I experienced was chaotic way, and because drugs were involved, I guess
not what I imagined, so a couple of friends came with me there was a lack of feeling, so I could get tattooed a lot and
and we opened a tiny shop in the south of France for the explored a lot of the possibilities of change. I got tattooed
summer. That’s when things really began for me. I was 24. really young, and mostly in tragic or weird ways. The re-
YOUR OWN BODY-SUIT IS BUILT OF MANY LAYERS—HISTORY OVERLAID WITH NEW HIS- sult was like, “You‘re 25-years-old. You’re mostly covered
TORY. HAS BEING TATTOOED THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE INFLUENCED HOW YOU APPROACH with crap. What can you do?” I just kept getting tattooed,
THE CRAFT AS A TATTOOIST? HAS SEEING THE POTENTIAL IN YOUR OWN BODY-SUIT and things got worse. I was terrified by the fucked up shit
ALLOWED YOU TO DO SO IN YOUR CLIENT’S? I was wearing. No one understood what I wanted to do, so
Experience, doing it and receiving it is where I found the at 30, I started tattooing myself. I covered my body with
truth of it all, I guess. My life was really chaotic until not dots to create a grey visual, and then blasted over this step
that long ago, and everything was experienced in a really with black to create shapes and balance. People would
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ask, “What the fuck you are doing?” Now, almost 10-years someone? Do your own shit, and if you want to talk, I’m
on, it has become a standard and a formality. sure I will have some answers. These are my politics. Why
HAVING TUTORED MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF INCREDIBLE ARTISTS—EACH PUSHING THE be an apprentice? To clean toilets? I don‘t need you to do
BOUNDARIES OF TATTOOING IN THEIR OWN WAY, CAN YOU SPEAK TO YOUR EXPERIENCES that for me. If you want to tattoo, tattoo! That‘s the secret.
OF BEING A TEACHER AND WHAT THIS OFFERS BACK TO YOU AS A TATTOOIST? If you are strong enough to persevere, let‘s talk. Consid-
I’ve never been a teacher, but I love exchanging ideas with ering this, I have an apprentice: Ché Cho Le Tatooer. He
people who get it. Rafel Delalande is said to have been my does his own shit, and when he wants to talk, I‘m always
apprentice, but he’s always just been a friend. What is it here, but more than anything, it’s friendship.
to be a teacher? I‘m not here to take the machine in your YOU'VE RECENTLY BEEN DEVELOPING YOUR OWN ALIEN-LIKE VISUAL LANGUAGE FROM
hand. You have to do this on your own. To get to a point A SKETCHBOOK THAT YOU’VE CARRIED ON YOUR TRAVELS—APPLYING PEN STRAIGHT TO
where you perfectly understand what you are doing—to PAPER WITH NO DRAWING OR REFERENCE. THIS VISION HAS NOW EXTENDED TO MURALS
reach this point, no one can do it for you. I never really at- ADORNING WALLS AND SKATE BOWLS AS WELL AS SKIN. WHAT WERE YOUR INTENTIONS
tended any kind of school, as I don‘t like authority or sys- BEHIND THIS SKETCHBOOK AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS LANGUAGE? WHAT ARE YOU
tems. Because of this, how would I ever be able to teach TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH REFERENCE-FREE TATTOOING?
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There’s no intention. I don‘t even know what the fuck monks around a stupa—we are creating energy! It‘s my
I‘m doing! I was in Nepal with Ché Cho, and we decided way of sending a message to outer-space. I would love to
to trip for 15-days straight. We just wanted to see what live in the time of the Nazca Lines, but here we are, so I do
would happen, and we drew. The sketchbook was born of with what I have now. However, this is just a beginning.
this time. We were then in Varanasi, India where we ex- My wish is to build my own park—my own structure, and
perimented further with altered states. with it a new approach to places of worship, because I
Strangely, in this automatic way of drawing, my hand don‘t like them.
found a way to show me an exit door—a way to exorcise Temples should be free of money and security—a place
demons. I stopped doing drugs once I developed this where peoples can turn inside and create energy.
visual language. I have no idea what I‘m doing and why, REGARDLESS OF THE DIRECTION OF YOUR FREE AND AMBITIOUS WORK, IT ALL FEELS EMBED-
but I feel I have to. I started to apply this work to skate DED WITH THE “CODES” OF TATTOOING—THE SAME CONFIDENT UNDERSTANDING OF BODY AND
bowls because they’re outside. There’s no cover—no trees IMAGERY. WHEN AND WHERE DO YOU FEEL YOU STARTED TO DEVELOP THIS UNDERSTANDING?
obscuring the view from the sky. I have also considered I believe that when you get tattooed, especially when it
that, as skateboarders, we are turning in the bowl like comes to large-scale work, you should be left with this feel-
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ing that what is new has always been there. This must mean does go smoothly, it‘s beautiful! This is why I’m having a hard
understanding perfectly what people want, need, and ex- time starting new projects at the moment; I‘m so comfort-
pect. I‘m not here to sell something to people. I need to an- able with the old ones! I love the people I work with.
swer well to something that you need for your benefit and THE WORD ‘INTEMPORAL’ IS REPEATEDLY MENTIONED IN-REGARDS TO YOUR WORK, AND
not mine. This is why I can‘t tattoo everyone. To me, it‘s a NOT ONLY SHOWS IN YOUR TATTOOS AND PAINTINGS, BUT IN THE DOCUMENTATION OF
big investment, so I do what I can on the people who get it. YOUR TRAVELS AND THE CLOTHING YOU PRODUCE WITH BANGKOK-BASED BRAND LOCO
The tattoo doesn’t have to be beautiful. It doesn’t have to be MOSQUITO. THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE SENSE OF HISTORY TO EVERYTHING YOU DO, BUT WHY
perfect. It doesn’t have to be crazy or wild. It’s got to fit the DO YOU FEEL THAT IS? WHAT DOES THE WORD ‘INTEMPORAL’ MEAN TO YOU?
person it has to fit. I don‘t know, this is the way I see things. ‘Intemporal’ is what tattooing, and art, should be! It is in-
However, I have had experiences where nothing works out. vesting in a body-suit that fits you perfectly—so much so
People can’t handle me or I can‘t handle them. I‘m here to do that you feel as if it’s always been there, and you’ll carry
a certain job, and if I can‘t accomplish this job, it’s not going to it until death. If tattooing can help you to reach a point
work. I‘m not here to simply waste time, but when everything where you can feel at ease with your body and mind for-
ever, especially within today’s society where people can‘t WORLD OF RULES AND JURISDICTION TO ANOTHER BETWEEN COUNTIES AND CONTINENTS.
seem to accept themselves, then why not? WHAT INFLUENCES YOU TO KEEP MOVING? WHAT DO YOU FEEL YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT
Why have all tribes been getting tattooed for centuries? PEOPLE AND POLITICS FROM YOUR CONSTANT TRAVELS?
Why has society, especially religion, turned tattooing into We are all controlled to such a degree that we can‘t do an-
something “wrong” and illegal? Why is there so much in- ything about it. We are living in a world with more rules
terest surrounding ink and skin? Now, they have found a than anyone has ever had to live by before. We are all liv-
way to erase the tattoo: by making it boring and universal, ing under jurisdiction—struggling under jurisdiction, and
so that everyone can forget the real essence of what it is to for what? Travelling has showed me that every citizen of
get tattooed, which is to show your true identity. one country or another wants to leave and be somewhere
People have forgotten what it means to be a beautiful else instead. Most people aren’t happy because they’ve
warrior. Why get tattooed if it‘s not to express your truth never made any steps towards being free, and they com-
or tribe? This is the real question. plain. I’ve never complained about any system because
YOU’VE DESCRIBED YOURSELF AS A “CITIZEN OF THE FREE WORLD”—MOVING FROM ONE I’ve never been a part of one, and that‘s why I‘m free.
@kevrichardsontattoo
Kev Richardson Jnr is a tattooist who’s not

afraid to explore the edges of horror and
the macabre. His creations, positioned as
symbols of death, the afterlife and the occult,
cover the skin with a beautiful cloak of eerie
and transgressive black and grey ink
A
lthough unsettling, there is an inherent beauty in much of
Richardon’s work, whose early influences of heavy metal LP
cover art, similarly depicts deathly subjects as the products
of fine art. Album covers have historically been suggestive
in nature, alluding to the type of music found on each vinyl in a manner
that at times is crass and at other times symbolic. The tattooist treads
a similarly fine line, at times alluding to occult stereotypes but always
with the intention to make an image culturally aware and hauntingly
seductive. Richardon’s tattoos work because by their very nature they
are authentic; his passion for horror movies and heavy metal have
shaped his vision, influenced his craft, and tailored his output. His pas-
sion for the macabre is palpable, a practitioner who continually pushes
his work in new and experimental directions; tattooing the horrific
with the passion it quite rightly deserves. Long live the undead.
Your work delves into the macabre and horrific, what led
you to work with this subject matter?
Album covers man! At least that’s where it started, heavy metal art-
work is something I’ve always loved, even as a kid I was drawing skulls
and copying images of Eddie (Iron Maiden) on to the covers of my
exercise books at school. I used to do it when I was bored; it got me
in trouble pretty regularly, although I felt rebellious and it gave me
a kick. The first time I saw Derek Riggs’s paintings it blew my mind
especially Somewhere in Time, I used to stare at that album cover for
Words: Steven Guichard-Kenny
hours. Later on I found my uncle’s record collection and that was next
level man, he had the best death metal collection; the Vince Locke
The esoteric, occult styles

and symbolism are a real
attraction to me
I work fast and light as to minimise trauma
and try and get a quick heal and a dark crispy
finished product didn’t like university at all, way too many boundaries. So
painting for Cannibal Corpse Eaten Back to Life with the while I was away at uni Kev was building up Sacred Skin’s
zombie eating its own guts is fucking amazing. reputation in Swinton, South Yorkshire and after gradu-
Have different life experiences had an effect on ating this is where I started my tattoo apprenticeship,
your tattoo work? around 2002/03 I think.
Absolutely, growing up my Dad played drums in rock What tattooists have been influential to your
bands pretty much full time so through the 80’s and ear- development?
ly 90’s I spent a lot of time around rockers and bikers at Obviously first and foremost was Kev Carlin, who I ap-
barbecues, gigs and in various beer gardens. This is where prenticed under and worked with for around eight years,
I first saw all these guys with amazing tattoos, winged getting tattooed by him was how I really picked it all up.
skulls, banners, crosses, pin-ups; these people had lots of No one in our area was doing the black and grey horror
work which really wasn’t that common at the time so they thing at the time so I felt like we really stood out; back
got a lot of attention. During my teens I really worked up then Kev was all about Paul Booth and the Last Rites
some hero worship for some of my old man’s mates and thing which was pretty shocking for some of those pit vil-
the lifestyle appealed to me. Obviously at that age I was lage types. Sacred Skin eventually moved to Doncaster
quite impressionable so the idea of working a regular and expanded, Lee Denham (@leedenham) came over
job and having some dick boss became quite a worry, so to join us from another studio. Lee’s tattoos looked like
leaving school I needed to buy some time to weigh up my stickers man so that had an impact for sure, bringing in
options. Off I went to art college to hopefully meet like- some heavy lines was a turning point and it was around
minded creative types, this was where I met Kev Carlin that time I met and got tattooed by Gerry Carnelly (@ger-
(@tattoosbybigkev) the owner of the tattoo studio Sacred rycarnellytattoo) at Octopus Tattoo in Derby. Gerry’s an
Skin. I finished college, got a place at uni and wasted an- interesting guy and a music snob to boot so we became
other three years hanging around those pompous types; I good friends. This was also where I met Ben Shaw (@ben-
shawtattoo), that studio oozes creativity and has a really Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street,
nice open vibe. and the list goes on. I think most of the ones I’ve done have
My move from Doncaster to Nottingham was quite a been palm sized pieces like Michael Myers, the trapdoor
big deal in this respect too; I started working at Bodycraft, girl from Evil Dead, the triangle from The Void, Jack Tor-
which at the time was a big and very busy place. I was sur- rance from The Shining, and probably a few more than
rounded by something like a dozen tattooists who I didn’t I remember. I recently watched the film Annihilation,
really know so it was time to up the anti and bring some- which sparked up some cool ideas that led to drawing some
thing to the table. Guest spots were something I was rela- flash designs, some weird hybrid plant, bone, floral, fungus
tively late to pick up on but so far I’ve only had positive stuff that people have seemed to lap up to my surprise.
experiences (I’ve heard some pretty bad horror stories). What tattooists are killing it right now?
I was invited to work at Parliament Tattoo in London a There are so many tattooists smashing it at the moment,
few years ago, and I have been going down there once or the general standard these days is insane. For example
twice a year ever since. It’s one hell of a place! It’s the peo- @tahliaundarlegt, we crossed paths on a couple of oc-
ple and personalities over the actual tattooing that’s the casions at Parliament Tattoo. Her work is so much fun
inspiring part for sure; there is so much positivity and to look at! Technically clean as a whistle and has a real
encouragement there, providing much needed reassur- psychedelic vibe that I am really a fan of. Scott Move’s
ance from time to time. I currently work at Neon Wolf (@scottmove) work is amazing in its intricacy and loses
Tattoo Studio and I feel this is where I’ve finally come nothing when healed, on account of a solid sort of tra-
into my own, the space James (the owner) has created is ditional base of contrasting line widths and heavy black
so unique, and the crew I work with now are so forward shades. The esoteric, occult styles and symbolism are a
thinking and encouraging. real attraction to me.
I am a total horror geek, have any horror I met Ben Shaw (@benshawtattoo) maybe ten years ago
movies led to a cool tattoo creation? while he was doing a guest spot at Sacred Skin, and was
Me too and nowhere near as many as I’d like! I’m a big fan immediately impressed with his work, so I started collect-
of the classics as well, you know Halloween, Psycho, The ing bits by him straight away- including a full back piece.
When someone books a tattoo with me I always stress

that there will be plenty of time on the day of the
appointment to make any changes to the design
Whatever the picture
is I do my very best to
make it in my style, I’m
not reliant on selling
trendy designs as to minimise trauma and try and get a quick heal and
a dark crispy finished product. Plus this stops me over
Ben is one of the most hard working guys I know and he working, or more over, thinking too much about a tattoo
has crafted a beautiful illustrative style. I’m not sure how and working it to death.
to explain this but Lee Withey (@leewithey) is like the When working on a large-scale design, how do
terminator when tattooing, it’s like being under a laser pace yourself to ensure your working at your best?
copier man, the guy can pull a clean line anywhere on a Well my back is knackered so physically pacing myself is
body! Lee has done a lot of work on me over the years in- important, three to four hour sessions work best for me. I
cluding a human heart being run through by a sword, cov- used to be able to tattoo for eight hours straight no prob-
ering most of the old stuff I had on my chest and stomach. lem but now that would put me out for a week. Mentally
What technical elements go into making your shorter sessions are more fun too as it keeps my attention
more intricate work? to the piece high from start to finish, and prevents auto-
A bug pin 3 liner, blown out 14 liner and a 7 mag! Serious- pilot kicking in. Tea is very important, I feel a short tea
ly it’s all about keeping it simple; it took me a long time break every now and then is vital.
to learn this, I spent too long getting wrapped up in the All tattooists are human and it can be expected
who’s using what machine? How did they get that black that mistakes can be made, what happens
like that? What needle has the flashiest box nonsense? when something goes wrong whilst tattooing?
Now my toolbox is down to a couple of direct drive rotary I just don’t let it happen these days! I mean in the first few
machines and a hard-hitting coil for the fat lines. High years before I’d established a method or a standard tech-
contrast is what I like so that’s what I try and stick to; so nique that worked for me, I made a couple of small errors.
ten summers down the line it’s still going to hold up. May- But that was while rigorously following stencils of images
be the pace I work at is a factor too, I work fast and light straight off the wall that someone else had designed and
A tattooist should
know how to pack solid
bright colours, pull off a
reasonable grey fade, and
do some fat and fine lines…
email with no face-to-face consultation. I guess an email
conversation can lack context and seem quite short at
times, which inadvertently leaves people wondering if
you actually know what they are talking about or wheth-
er you understood the idea properly. So yeah, I guess you
just have to take it easy and earn a bit of trust.
Being a black worker, how do you ensure you
stand out against such a large crowd?
I don’t really do anything consciously to stand out, but I
try not to be that guy who does that one particular thing
i.e. I don’t want to be the demon guy or the chain-link
fence on the knee guy. In this respect the credit has to go
to my customers for coming to me with such awesome
ideas, I just love to listen and then give my interpretation.
Whatever the picture is I do my very best to make it
in my style, I’m not reliant on selling trendy designs; it’s
more about the execution and that’s why my portfolio is
so eclectic. Everyday is something different, I love the
challenge; one day I’m tattooing Jesus Christ and the next
fucking Mickey Mouse. Variety really is the spice of life.
Which leads me to ask, do you think it is
important that a tattooist has a specific
aesthetic that they stay with? Or can artists
transverse many different styles successfully?
Well I think this is a double-edged sword in a way, concen-
way before I’d developed a ‘style’. I’d commit to a line and it trate on one thing and you will progress faster but trends
would start to deviate, then came the hot face and sense of come and trends go. When I started tattooing, Celtic work
dread! Fifteen to sixteen years on and I’m obviously more was making way for ‘tribal’, a few years after that it was Jap-
confident and it’s much more comfortable taking your own anese stuff, then black and grey etc. So the ability to trans-
drawings from paper to skin. That’s not to say the odd piece verse styles is important to a degree but that’s more from a
doesn't turn out exactly as planned but it’s certainly not a technical perspective. I think a tattooist should know how
mistake. Tattoos just naturally develop and evolve during to pack solid bright colours, pull off a reasonable grey fade,
the making, and that’s part of the excitement. and do some fat and fine lines. That’s not to say your going
How do you manage client expectations when to use all these tools day-to-day because of course honing
discussing and designing a tattoo? your style is paramount but it will come in handy during
Social media has made this a hell of a lot easier! I mean those quiet spells and nothing is certain in this world.
you have a portfolio online for the whole world to see, What does tattooing mean to you?
so people can follow your work and how it develops for Simply put it means FUCK YOU; it means I can live
months or even years. Ninety-nine percent of people comfortably on the periphery of what I conceive as nor-
choose you as the artist best suited for the their tattoo. mal life, it means I can be creative for a living and not a
They know what you’re about and know your style, so be- slave to some faceless company, it means I have the best
fore even getting in touch, customers have a general idea and most outrageous bunch of friends you can imagine,
of how the tattoo will look. it means I’m part of a proud lineage who’s passed down
When someone books a tattoo with me I always stress their knowledge from apprentice to apprentice, it means
that there will be plenty of time on the day of the appoint- I get to meet a whole crazy spectrum of people everyday,
ment to make any changes to the design, which is espe- and it means I get to look back at my teenage self and say
cially important now that most bookings are made via ‘told you we’d get there’.
BACKPIECES
& BODYSUITS
AND OTHER
LARGE-SCALE TATTOOS
DISCOVERED in the portfolio
of BellyButton
(Freehand tattoo artist. South of France)
bellybuttontattooshop.com
instagram.com/bellybutton_tattoo
[email protected]
THIS IS PERSONAL
No matter how popular they become, subjectivity will continue to make
tattoos one of the most unique artforms in the world, with one truth
continually at their core… that no two stories will ever be the same
R
ecently I was thinking about tattoos and how one tattoo experience or final artistic result is the same.
they have come to represent something trendy Even in the era of copy-cats, even at an event where you
and popular, rather than something alterna- can partake in tattoo stereotype bingo, you can still play
tive. I’ve found myself in certain locations spot the difference. Many of us might wear the same
before where I’ve felt like my tattoos didn’t allow me to boots, but we most certainly haven’t walked in the pair
stand out from the crowd, they actually made me blend owned by the guy next to us. We might look like we wear
in, seem part of something shared by hundreds—or thou- the same sleeves, but the stories skin deep set us apart
sands—of other people. from each other. Consciously or unconsciously, by allow-
For example, I can walk around a tattoo convention for ing our own specific lives, emotions, desires and prefer-
a few hours and leave feeling pretty un-original in terms ences to influence our choices, tattooed folk continue to
of how I look. Why is it, then, that for me, tattoos still stand for an ability to be unique, rather than a desperate
manage to encompass the concept of being individual, of need to follow the crowd.
Words: Rebecca Givens
dancing to your own individual tune? How could this be What also sets tattooing apart from so many other art-
so? How can the act of getting tattooed represent one per- forms in the world is the fact that in this creative space,
son resisting what everyone else is doing, when so many two strangers’ opinions come together to birth one final
of us are doing it? piece. A tattoo can mean completely different yet equally
The answer lies in the individuality of the tattoo. No significant things to both parties involved in its creation.
LUCIE RICHARDSON
Gunz N Ink, Stowmarket, Suffolk
Instagram @lucietattoo
“i would hate for someoneeyto’d

leave having felt like th e”
not had a good experienc
This baking-themed tattoo was cre
ated for
to bake
Rose about a month ago. I also love
me !
so this was great subject matter for
bak ed
Rose always brings her incredible
the shop for us so it really
creations into
dim ension to be able to create
added another
first hand
this for her when I’ve experienced
to design
how talented she is. It’s always nice
e whe n you kno w
something for someon
g - it’s rew ard ing
it has a personal meanin
ned for
when you know a customer has plan
you to cre ate.
a long time and is trusting
ers whi lst I’m
I love to chat to my custom
m - I wou ld
working and find out about the
ing felt like
hate for someone to leave hav
It’s always
they’d not had a good experience.
ind their
interesting to find out the stories beh
er for
tattoo ideas, whether it’s a birth flow
holi day ,
a loved one or to commemorate a
person or …
each tattoo has a meaning to that
s! Either
sometimes, they just really like rose
ted
way, I am so happy that they’ve trus
that des ign for the m.
me to immortalise
the ir first few tatt oos
I think to most people,
th - som etim es
have meaning and dep
, to
they feel that they HAVE to have this
on the ir bod y for
justify getting something
the y hav e, the
ever. Then the more tattoos
me anin g
less they feel they have to add
d
to it and sometimes they get tattooe
just because they like the artwork . rose: tattoos can bring so many
people together from such vast
It is born in the soul of tattooist and will die as part of backgrounds and cultures”
This baking-themed
the skin of another living being. Tattoos do not belong to tattoo was created fo
ago. I also love to ba r Rose about a month
ke so this was great
just one person, and they are far from static, continually Rose always brings he subject matter for m
r incredible baked cr e!
for us so it really adde eations into the shop
adapting, taking on various new versions of themselves, d another dimension
this for her when I’ve to be able to create
experienced first hand
from the second they pop into the head of the artist, to is. It’s always nice to
design something fo
how talented she
know it has a persona r someone when you
the day they go home with their new owner, to a moment customer has planne
l meaning - it’s reward
ing when you know a
d for a long time and
hundreds of years later when they become dust. I love to chat to my cu
stomers whilst I’m wo
is trusting you to crea
te.
about them - I would rking and find out
So, now let me stand to one side and hand over to the hate for someone to
leave having felt
like they’d not had a
tattoos themselves. Let’s hear some of these stories, fresh good experience. It’s
to find out the storie always interesting
s behind their tattoo
outta the UK tattoo world. Tattoo-maker and tattoo- a birth flower for a lov ideas, whether it’s
ed one or to commem
each tattoo has a mea orate a holiday,
wearer talk side-by-side about what these pieces of work ning to that person…
they just really like ro or sometimes,
ses! Either way, I am
mean to them personally, highlighting the sheer power of they’ve trusted me to so happy that
immortalise that desig
I think to most people, n for them.
the individuality of the tattoo experience. Even the tattoo their first few tattoos
depth - sometimes th ha
ey feel that they HAVE ve meaning and
decisions made with little emotion (the ones we choose getting something on
their body for ever. Th
to have this, to justify
they have, the less th en the more tattoos
‘just because we like them’), epitomise the timeless truth sometimes they get
ey feel they have to ad
d meaning to it and
tattooed just becaus
that reaction to art will always be subjective. e they like the artwor
k.
lauren hepple
Rock ‘n’ Roll Tattoo, Southampton, Ham
pshire
Instagram @lh.tattoo
“tattooing really is a very

personal experience”
ky
I love tattooing odd concepts and quir
that focu s on men tal
pieces, and images
tion
health and self-care. I create art as a reac
to what inspires me in eve ryda y life - from
t may
pigeons I see on my way to work, to wha
to situ atio ns in my
be going on in the world,
tion al outl et a
personal life. I draw as an emo
be in a time of
lot of the time, whether that
When
distress or when I am particularly happy.
y anim als
I am happier I tend to draw funn
xed,
in outfits and when I’m feeling more rela
flow ers…
you get cats sleeping, surrounded by
erie nce .
tattooing really is a very personal exp
as a
I tattooed this piece in June. It started
er crow n, but whe n wor king
lady with an antl
on it, I started seei ng it as mor e of a fae
the
creature or woodland spirit. I love how
and pow erfu l, but also has
figure looks strong
. Also how pow erfu l
an ethereal, elegant feel
the vine s and antl ers
but calm she looks, with
nected
growing from her, she seems very con
e to natu re so I felt
to nature. I always feel clos
From draw ing
very connected to the piece.
it was very
to evolving into a finished tattoo,
who
special to see this design on someone
ima ge.
also felt a strong connection to the
orta nt
My customer’s experience is very imp
ind
- I love when I get to hear the story beh
find it
someone’s connection to a concept. I
ut
really special when talking in person abo
cust ome r wan ts to ope n
the piece, if the
ws
up about it. I find that talking really allo
idea of wha t it mea ns
both of us to get an
g has give n me a
to each of us. Tattooin
whole new way of connecting to people.
jasmine: “i don’t think
people need to know the
meaning to appreciate”
My tattoo is difficult to describe but I call
her “a forest nymph”, and she represents
a love that has been recurring throughout
my life - my love of woodland creatures.
I
have always loved deer, Bambi was one
of my favourite movies growing up and I
had a full-sized deer toy given to me by
my grandma for one of my birthdays. She
definitely embodies that connection for
me. Having this on my body forever mea
ns
that I’ve immortalised one of my passions
in something - I love the fact that it’s goin
g
to be a part of me for the rest of my life.
I absolutely love showing off all of my tatto
os
- they’re on places people can see easily
so
I’m always happy to talk about them! I don
’t
tend to tell people about the meaning of
this one unless they ask about it, mainly
because I don’t think people need to know
the meaning to appreciate the fact that I’ve
got a beautiful piece of art on my body.
AMY WHITING
Black Moon Tattoos, Frome, Somerset
ilderness
inkandwilderness.co.uk / Instagram @inkandw
“tattoos will always be a

deeply personal thing”
o is memorable
I did this cat skull for Mary back in July. This tatto
like I was coming
for me as it was a bit of a turning point - I felt
on the shad ing front, bolder
into my own style… a bit darker
res a lot of my favourite
and more contrasted. It is also featu
cree py bota nicals. I’ve
subject matter: skulls, mushrooms and
and the mac abre
always been hugely inspired by nature
toge ther.
and I enjoy bringing both of these elements
t know a great deal
For the most part at the design stage, I don’ is usually
ons. This
about my customer’s experiences and motivati bein g
they ’re
something that we chat about on the day while the tattoo
gett ing
tattooed. Sometimes (a bit like me) they’re just for
g spec ific,
because they like it. Other times, if it’s somethin
tattoo, it’s nice to know befo rehand so I can
example a memorial
gn. It also helps me to
take this into account while drawing the desi
and if they might
know what kind of tone our session might take
tattoo or not.
want to discuss the reasons they’re getting the
le com e to get tattooed because
I definitely think that some peop
lling, relationships,
of their own life experiences, whether that’s trave
ing away. For the
places and (sometimes sadly) loved ones pass
me to get tattooed because
most part I find that people come to
the subj ect matter.
they like the style of what I’m doing, or
subj ect of the tattoo is
Frequently these two things meet and the
pers onal , especially
a reminder of a memory or something more
a deep ly personal
with a custom tattoo. Tattoos will always be are.
ue as they
thing and each person’s choices will be as uniq
mary-jane: “i don’t really
sit and reflect too much
on a new tattoo now”
Tattoos remain personal and unique even
though they have grown in popularity. I’m
actually glad that tattooing has become
more
popular, as it has increased the acceptan
ce
of them (at least for me) and I love talking
about tattoos with other tattooed people.
Both the look and meaning of the tattoo
are important to me, I like my tattoos to be
visually pleasing but the meaning wouldn’t
change if the design was smaller, for exam
ple.
Then again, not all of my tattoos have mea
ning.
I don’t really sit and reflect too much on a
new
tattoo now, but I used to when I first star
ted
getting tattoos. This tattoo doesn’t really
have
a personal meaning, but I adore cats and
all
things taxidermy, so I thought a combina
tion
of these would make a great spooky tatto
o.”
will dixon
Imperial Tattoo Company, Bath, Somerse
t
Instagram @willdixontattoo
“my predominant focus is to enarsure the

tattoo is of the highest stand d”
with bold, bright, colourful
I enjoy tattooing all styles but my heart lies
ly. This full-colour realistic
tattoos - flowers, foliage and animals, main
on the front of a shoulder… it
chameleon I tattooed almost a year ago
to complete. Chameleons
took around 10/11 hours over two sessions
n eager to try my hand at
have always appealed to me and I’ve bee
ally all of my colour pallet!
tattooing one, the perfect excuse to use virtu
ts - combining my professional
I always enjoy working alongside my clien
the problems that arise. These
opinion with their raw concept and tackling
lts, ultimately collaborating to
interactions always make for interesting resu
r with pride. My predominant
create something that they cherish and wea
est standard. I’m my own worst
focus is to ensure the tattoo is of the high
myself at every opportunity,
critic in this respect, continually criticising
better. But this in turn ensures
almost screaming at myself at times to do
nt and the way the tattoo
the tattoo stays sharp and precise. Placeme
whe n going about the tattoo
interacts with the body is a prime factor
of the chosen chameleon, the
process - it is one of my favourite factors
shou lder really adds character.
way it looks as if it’s perched on Nicole’s ain design
within cert
The customers’ experiences are influential
raits, which combine both
processes. I tattoo a lot of stylised pet port
influence. The majority of
the sentimental value and my own artistic
own concepts constructed
my customer base come to me with their
me to manipulate the concept
around previous experiences, then allow
boration from both parties.
and form a tattoo which ultimately is a colla
nicole: “you end up
talking to people you
never normally would”
This chameleon is part of an ongoing
sleeve that began as a means to create
a starting point in conversations about
endangered animals and conservation
efforts. I have always been passionate abo
ut
animals and at one point was going to be
a
zoologist. I’ve been going to Will for about
5 years now and have a large collection
of mainly realistic style animal tattoos.
I love the fact that tattoos can bring people
together. There have been global tattoo
projects aimed at erasing issues such as
racism by bringing the world together
through a single line that spans multiple
tattoos. It’s also nice because you end up
talking to people you never normally wou
ld
and that has a wholesome quality to it.
I always knew that I wanted tattoos from
a very young age. Growing up and going
through the typical teenage insecurities,
I feel
tattoos really helped me develop into who
I
am today. They’ve given me the confiden
ce
to be myself and express myself exactly
how I want to without fear of judgement.
I’ve always thought of tattoos as an art
collection, and I picked an artist that I love
and let him do his thing. Some people hang
art on their walls, I wear mine on my skin
.
The
SERPENTS of
BIENVILLE
6($1+(50$1
675$16)250$7,9(7$7722
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URRP$ZRPDQZDVVHHQVWDQGLQJLQWKHIURQWIDFLQJWKHFURZGORRNLQJ
GRZQZDUG2QHDIWHUWKHRWKHUPHQFDPHIRUZDUGWKURZLQJDFFXVDWLRQVDW
KHUPHQZKRPVKHKDGNQRZQVLQFHFKLOGKRRGPHQZKRPVKHKDGZRUNHG
IRUDQGKHOSHGUDLVHWKHLUFKLOGUHQ{
S
tanding in front of her one accuser stated, “I witchcraft, and in Damned Women: Sinners and Witch-
was taken very ill again all over and felt a great es in Puritan New England Elizabeth Reis writes that
weight on my chest, and after a while I saw ap- around 78% believed to be women. Women who did not
parently the shape of conform to the norms of Pu-
her, who, as I was sitting in a ritan society were more likely
chair by ye fire pulled me with to be the target of an accusa-
ye chair, down backward to ye tion, especially those who
ground, and take haste to lay were unmarried or did not
with me. Against my will hap- have children. Unfortunately,
pening, and thus gone in the these ideas are nothing new.
wind.” The woman knew the In Jewish folklore, Al-
lies being told, but continued phabet of Sirach (c. 700–
looking down, until another 1000 CE) onwards, Lilith ap-
man spewed forth from the pears as Adam’s first wife, who
crowd and grabbed her arm. was created at the same time
Throwing her sleeve down (Rosh Hashanah) and from
to her elbow, he screamed, the same clay as Adam—com-
“The Devils mark, she wears pare Genesis 1:27. (This con-
it here, she is a witch!” The trasts with Eve, who was cre-
man pointed to a small mark, ated from one of Adam’s ribs:
a tattoo on her right hand, and thus sealed her demise. Genesis 2:22.) The legend developed extensively during
Like so many of her day, she was sentenced to be burned the Middle Ages, in the tradition of Aggadah, the Zohar,
at the stake. and Jewish mysticism. For example, in the 13th-century
As absurd as it sounds, in 1692 this was an all too com- writings of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Cohen, Lilith left Adam
mon occurrence. In Witchcraft, a very short introduc- after she refused to become subservient to him and then
tion, Malcolm Gaskill estimates that, between 1450 to would not return to the Garden of Eden after she had cou-
1750, some 40,000 people were executed for the crimes of pled with the archangel Samael. Further stories suggest
IT IS NOT ALL ELDERLY don, a similar fate to the victims of the witch trials, along
with Lilith too being punished and sent away. These are
WOMEN OR MEN, NOT ALL not the sins of the past. This oppression rears its head in
BOYS OR GIRLS THAT A our world every day.

Leo Igwe, founder of the Nigerian Humanist Move-
BRANDED WITCHES…. ment and founding director of the Center for Inquiry Ni-
geria, documents events that sound like they were taken
out of a page of history, but they are currently happening
in modern day Africa. Igwe states:
that it was Samael and Lilith who came in the form of a “In patriarchal societies, women often are found at the
serpent to Eve in the garden of Eden, with their intent be- lower ranks of the society. Hence they have the label of
ing to expose Eve to the knowledge hidden from her. witchcraft applied to them. This explains why women are
In Greek mythology, Medusa was a beautiful priestess often the victims of accusation. But it is not all women
of Athena’s temple, devoted to a life of celibacy. Most leg- who are accused. It is mainly elderly women- widows,
ends say her beauty surpassed that of Helen of Troy’s and childless women who are often targeted. Here are a few
was bordering on the beauty of the Gods. One night Po- cases from Northern Ghana to illustrate my point.
seidon wandered into Athena’s temple and was so vexed “Melatu was accused by the daughter of being respon-
by Medusa’s beauty he forced himself on her, taking her sible for her illness. She was taken to a local shrine where
virginity and ultimately impregnating her. The Goddess she was confirmed a witch. The daughter later died. She
Athena saw the act and instead of protecting her priest- was attacked, beaten and banished from her community.
ess, she became enraged at Medusa for tempting the God Melatu is currently living in a witch camp in Ghana.
Poseidon. Athena then stripped Medusa of everything “But another alleged witch, Bibat, could not make it to
that would make her desirable to men: her long golden the camp. In 2010, the step son confirmed from a local di-
locks turned into snakes, her porcelain skin into a green- viner that she was bewitching him. And one evening, the
ish hue, and her gentle eyes into furious orbs. Athena step son confronted her in an open field and stabbed her
cursed Medusa to live a life of isolation making it so that to death.
any man who dared to look at her would immediately “Vulnerable members of the population are not nec-
turn to stone. Medusa was punished for the sins of Posei- essarily female. They can be male, young or old, poor or
‘rich’ people. It is not all elderly wom- ACCORDING TO THE GLOBAL
en or men, not all boys or girls that a
branded witches. Witches are those SLAVERY INDEX 2018, AROUND 403,000
with weak social political base; those PEOPLE IN THE U.S. LIVED UNDER
SOME FORM OF MODERN SLAVERY
unable to successfully contest accu-
sations made against them. The trag-
edy is that witchcraft remains a power-
ful narrative in diagnosing social problems
and challenges that people face…” her books Witchcult in Western Europe and The God of
Igwe is currently working on campaigns to help rescue the Witches in the early 20th century. She theorised that
these victims and bring them out safely. The picture that the marks were actually tattoos that identified members
Igwe paints is far more common than we would like to of an organised pagan religion that was believed to have
believe, with a real persecution threatening the lives of flourished in the Middle Ages. Murray’s writings went on
innocent people throughout the world, all based on their to inspire the modern day Wiccan and Neo-Pagan move-
gender and race. ments; however, her ideas are now considered controver-
After hearing these accounts and stories, the dangers of sial and largely rejected by academics due to the lack of
speculation and abuse of power are made evident, their evidence. Regardless, tattoos and women became a con-
visible consequences undeniably visceral. The victim tentious topic in our modern landscape, with many ref-
standing trial was accosted and her sleeve thrown up, ex- erencing this idea of a “tattooed witch” for years to come.
posing a “Devil’s mark”, one of the many imaginary piec- In this climate, tattooing became a tool of control, even
es of evidence presented during these proceedings. The going so far as to mark an ownership of a human body.
Devils mark was one of the methods used to convict in- According to the Global Slavery Index 2018, around
nocent women of crimes created by the ruling male class. 403,000 people in the U.S. lived under some form of mod-
Controversial British anthropologist Margaret Murray ern slavery. Globally, about 80% of trafficking victims
discussed specifically the idea of of the Devil’s mark in are women and children. Ally Burke and her husband,
AS I AM A WHITE MALE IN
MY AMERICAN CULTURE, I
BELONG TO THE WORLD OF
PRIVILEGE…
Morgan, started Shielding Survivors Tattoo to connect

survivors of sex trafficking with tattoo shops to offer free
coverups. Morgan Young, a victim services training officer
within the Wisconsin Department of Justice, spoke about
branding at the recent event hosted by Shielding Survi-
vors. Young told AP news about the tattooing that exists
in this climate. “We see a lot of tattoos around loyalty or
the name of the trafficker,” Young said. “Sometimes it’s
something as blatant as barcodes or money signs saying you didn’t want people to touch you then you shouldn’t
that person is for sale.” When speaking about a tattoo a have gotten them” is all too common, be it, completely
recent survivor had covered, she stated, “Getting this tat- disgusting. In times of turmoil one can look to history for
too today was like therapy … it’s healing. This tattoo will direction. Māori women come to mind, with a long his-
always remind me that I’m a survivor. I’m a warrior with tory of strong, tattooed women. In their belief, the power
so much more to give.” An interesting power dynamic for the pillar they stand can be found in their tattoos.
seems to occur in this idea. The tattoo that was a mark of In 1769, Captain James Cook wrote, “The marks in
slavery is recreated into a mark of freedom. This is one of general are spirals drawn with great nicety and even el-
the many reasons I love tattooing, the power of recrea- egance. One side corresponds with the other. The marks
tion that lies within it. on the body resemble foliage in old chased ornaments,
Modern versions of the witch trials still repeat them- convolutions of filigree work, but in these they have
selves daily. Hidden in plain sight, rubbing shoulders with such a luxury of forms that of a hundred which at first
us, and helping create laws that continue to benefit one appeared exactly the same no two were formed alike on
while oppressing another. I can see these elements from close examination.” What Captain Cook wrote was the
my perspective as a tattooist. The amount of women that first English documentation of Ta moko, a tattoo worn
I tattoo that tell me stories about being physically han- by Māori women. In pre-European Māori culture many
dled to view their tattoos is frightening. The quotes of “If if not most high-ranking persons received moko, and
THIS REALISATION OF WHAT ture from the Euro-centric one that haunted
PRIVILEGE ACTUALLY IS HAS the witch trials. Women are understood as pro-
tectors and guides, helping to lead their commu-
CHANGED MY LIFE, CAUSING ME nity into a new day in Māori culture. This power
TO REEXAMINE EVERYTHING I is inspiring, and has the ability to help create

change for communities across the globe.
THOUGHT I KNEW ABOUT THE As I drew the illustration for “Guardian
WORLD AROUND ME Protector”, my head filled with imagery of

witch trials and the oppression created in such
a poisonous domain. Reading historical accounts
induces a frightening pain, realising what our
those who went without them were seen as persons of world is capable of, yet I rarely have to personally
lower status. Receiving moko constituted an important deal with its effects. As I am a white male in my American
milestone between childhood and adulthood, and was culture, I belong to the world of privilege. So I am reading
accompanied by many rites and rituals. Apart from sig- about the Salem witch trials, modern African witch hunts,
nalling status and rank, another reason for the practice in and the victims of human trafficking, though I’ve not had
traditional times was to make a person more attractive to to suffer through any of these. I am surrounded by women
the opposite sex. Māori writer and academic Dr Ngahuia who have, women who helped raise me, nurture me, and
Te Awekotuku, who is Professor of Psychology at Wai- guide me into positive directions. I have been protected
kato University says: “Ta moko today is much more than by those whom have been oppressed and vilified, an all too
a fashion statement, a passing fad for Māori. It is about common practice. Inspired by this, I used the exaggerated
who we are, and whom we come from. It is about where vilified imagery of a witch, hands outstretched, almost en-
we are going, and how we choose to get there. And it is compassing the baby in the foreground.
about [this] for always, forever.” At first glance, the message seems obvious; but upon
When Benita Tahuri spoke with vice.com about her ta closer examination, that witch, a creation of oppression,
moko she said, “For me it spoke of healing, reflection, em- is preserving the thing that will grow to eventually op-
powerment and identity. It wasn’t any conscious kind of press it. This realisation of what privilege actually is has
thought—the physical manifestation of moko kauae is the changed my life, causing me to reexamine everything I
end of a journey.” For centuries, power came from the inten- thought I knew about the world around me, and my in-
tion in the creation of tattoos for the Māori people, specifi- teractions with it. In the next issue we will explore what
cally the ta moko for the women of the community. The sin- can be done from the perspective of privilege, and how
gular identity, the ownership of one’s body, and the respect it tattooing can redirect that energy toward openness, em-
wields paints a different picture of the tattoo in female cul- powerment, and change.
BACKPIECES
& BODYSUITS
AND OTHER
LARGE-SCALE TATTOOS
PHOTO: KEN PENN
Scenes from
RICHMOND
TATTOO, ART
& MUSIC
CONVENTION
J
esse Smith and Kenny Brown has always known how to put
on a good show—and by ‘good show’ we mean, pull in artists
you actually want to see tattooing with as much variation as
is possible while still making it a show you want to keep in-
volved with—as opposed to wandering away to go shopping or watch
TV in your hotel room.
This year, the show held court to (amongst others) Frank LaNatra,
Carlos Rojas, Nick Baxter, Stefano Alcantara, Ryan Ashley, Gunnar,
Sarah Miller… the kind of hitlist that gets you excited about turning
up. Throw in some entertainment, the likes of which only this team
could think of—‘air sex’ competition anybody?—and a superb live art/
charity auction and the Richmond Tattoo, Art & Music Convention
Images: Ken Penn
for this year is a winner on a whole stack of levels.

Here, we bring you some of the highlights courtesy of the always on
point Ken ‘I’ve never seen you without a camera in your hand’ Penn.
S C E N E S F R O M R I C H M O N D TAT T O O ,
ART & MUSIC CONVENTION
S C E N E S F R O M R I C H M O N D TAT T O O ,
ART & MUSIC CONVENTION
BACKPIECES
& BODYSUITS
AND OTHER
LARGE-SCALE TATTOOS
PHOTO: KEN PENN
IT'S EASY TO SUBSCRIBE!
See website for terms and conditions.

Shell Vamps
James Acton
Aaron Cooper
James Merner
James Acton
Jonny Saunders
James Merner
Jonny Saunders
James Merner
Trawa Tattoo
Leah Sharples Jonny Saunders
Rob Sedgebeer Lewis Wynnyk
Max Pniewski
Jay Yotov
Callum Kelly
Jay Yotov
Paul Case
Robin Lall
Robin Lall
Vicky Brown
Vicky Brown
Rob Sedgebeer
Jack's Tattoos - Portadown Skin Graffiti • Wigan
Tel: 0283 839 8790 01942 826553 ,/
, Jackstattoos Portadown www.skingraffititattoos.co.uk
Joker Tattoo Studio - Belfast Naughty Needles - Bolton

Tel: 02890 314 280 & 07803 628967 Tel: 01204 493529 ,
www.jokertattoo.co.uk ,/- www.naughtyneedles.co.uk
EIRE
sco t l an d we s t mi dla nds

n or t h er n i re lan d east m id lan ds
e i re s out h w es t Nine Lives - Bray Skin Fantasy - Burnley
Tel: 00353 1276 1592 , NINELivesTattoo Tel: 01282 424566 ,
n or th w e st c hannel isla n ds www.skinfantasyburnley.co.uk
n o rt h ea st sou t h e a st
NORTH WEST NORTH EAST
wal e s ea st
If you would like to be listed in the Skin Shots directory, contact

Sarah on 01244 886029 or email [email protected]
Full details available on www.skindeep.co.uk/advertising
2001 AD Tattoo Studio - Leeds
INKDEN TATTOO STUDIO—BLACKPOOL Tel: 0113 240 3412 ,/
Tel: 07851366835 ,/ www.2001adtattoodesign.com
SCOTLAND
The Ink Minx - Montrose

Blue Box - Dunfermline Tel: 01674 678989 HELLO SAILOR—BLACKPOOL Gothika Tattoos - Redcar
Tel: 01383736829 | 07837 902352 , Ink Minx Tattoos Tel: 01253 752032 ,/ Tel: 01642498572 /
http://hello-sailor.org/ , Gothika TattooRedcar
ADDICTION TATTOO AND PIERCING – BANGOR
bushman Ink - Whitburn TJ's Tattoo Studio - Kilmarnock

Tel: 01501 228086 , Bushman Ink Tel: 01563 551599 ,
Tattoo & Piercing Studio www.tjs-studio.co.uk
Tattoos by Rebekah, Piercings by Greg

10a Quay Street, Bangor, County Down, BT20 5ED
Tel: 07769 532 606
Email: [email protected]
Creation Tattoo - Dunfermline Dark Angel Tattoo Studio - Belfast
Tel: 01383 622912 Tel: 0289 022 0750 , ,addictiontattoobangor
www.creationtattoo.co.uk ,/ www.darkangeltattoos.com
DIRECTORY
SKINZ TATTOO STUDIO — LEEDS SOTA CUSTOM TATTOO — LLANTWIT MAJOR
Tattoos by Mr Lee. Piercing & Laser Removal by Emma. Station Buildings, Tattoos by Matt Faulkner
318-322 Stanningley Road, BRAMLEY, Leeds, LS13 3EG 1A Barons Close House, East Street, Llantwit Major,
Tel: 0113 204 7848 [email protected] Vale of Glamorgan, CF61 1XY
,@SkinzStudio /@skinztattoostudio Tel: 01446 795785 [email protected] ,/ SOTA Tattoo Co.
www.leedstattoostudio.com www.sota-ink.co.uk
Ian Petrie Tattoo Artist
Tel: 01652 651700
www.tattooartistsscunthorpe.co.uk
Ian Petrie Tattoo Artist Valonia Tattoos - South Shields Tribal Dragon Tattoo Studio - Dermagraffix - Halesowen
Tel: 01652 651700 Tel: 07794 045917 ,/- aberaeron Tel: 01545 571140 Tel: 0121 585 7690
www.tattooartistsscunthorpe.co.uk www.valoniatattoos.co.uk , Tribal Dragon tattoo studio
WALES
Paradise Tattoos & Body Art Studio Lasting Impressions Tattoo Studio Wrexham Ink - Wrexham BOSSINK - Telford
Ltd - Halifax Tel: 01422 300920 - Pontypool , Tel: 01978 290876 ,/ tel: 01952 587841 ,/
, Paradise 2 Tattoo Studio Tel: 07783 608782 & 01495 751337 www.wrexhamink.com www.bossink.co.uk
WEST MIDLANDS
Second 2 None - Rotherham Living Colour - Cwmbran Big Wills Tattoos TEL: 01543898766 Native Elements Art & Tattoo Studio
Tel: 01709 380069 & 07879 268745 Tel: 01633 867676 ,/@ BIGWILLSTATTOOSTUDIO Coventry
, Simon Secondtonone Grayson ,/ Living Colour Tattoo WWW.BIGWILLSTATTOOS.CO.UK Tel: 0771 256 5729 ,/
PURPLE MOON TATTOOS — CONNAHS QUAY
Talisman Tattoo Art Studio - York Physical Graffiti - Cardiff

Tel: 01904 636462 / Tel: 0292 048 1428 ,/
, Talisman Tattoostudio www.phyicalgraffiti.co.uk
Tattoos by Mick & Luke

78 HIGH STREET, CONNAHS QUAY, CH5 4DD
Tel: 07756 808884
Tat2 Station - Newcastle-Upon-Tyne Pleasure or Pain Productions - Aberdare [email protected]
Tel: 0191 232 8491 ,/ Tel: 01685 875252 ,/ , purplemoontattooshotton
www.tattoostation.co.uk www.pleasureorpainproductions.co.uk
COSMIC MONSTERS INCORPORATED—BROMSGROVE
Opulent Ink - Wolverhampton Tribal Images Tattoo Studios - Hanley

Tel: 01902 424834 Tel: 01782 268691 ,
www.opulentink.com www.tribalimages.co.uk
SOUTH WEST
Tattoos by Ollie Tye

Miltre House, The Courtyard, 27 the Strand, Broomsgrove, Worcestershire
tel: 07863 135814
[email protected]
Jonny Saunders Dr Feelgood's Tattoo Studio - Poole
/@Jonnysaunders8 Tel: 01202 674838 ,/ , cosmic monsters incorporated
www.jonnysaunders.com www.drfeelgoods.co.uk
PULSE TATTOO & PIERCING—NORTHAMPTON
Rendition - Nuneaton LUCKY CHARLIE TATTOOS, RANDWICK

Tel: 02476 325656 Tel: 07725 893895 ,/
, Point Made Tattoo-Studio Nuneaton
Tattoos by Andy X Edge, Simon Walden & Niall Barton.

Piercings by Charlii, James & Alana, 12 & 15 St Peters Walk, Northampton, NN1 1PT
Tel: 01604 627228 [email protected]
, pulsetattooandpiercing / pulsetattooandpiercing
www.pulse-tattoo.co.uk
Scottatattoo - Worcester
Tel: 01905 748818 ,
The Ink Captain's Tattorium - Exeter
Tel: (01392) 200111 ,-
MAD TATTERS TATTOO & PIERCING
www.scottatattoo.com www.inkcaptain.com
SOUTH EAST
Tattoos by Tony - Birmingham Andy Barber's New Rose Tattoo Studio

Tel: 0121 477 5995 ,/ - New Malden, Surrey ,/ Mad Tatters Tattoo & Piercing Studio, 28b Market Street, Wellingborough NN8 1AT
www.tattoosbytony.co.uk www.andybarberstattoostudio.co.uk 01933 805413 [email protected] Aritists - Thor, Nat & Leigh-an
,Mad Tatters Tattoo and Piercing
BIG WILLS TATTOO STUDIO—LICHFIELD MY TRUE COLOUR—DERBY TATTOOS BY TOMO—SMETHWICK
Tattoos by Karl Ormond, Tattooing & piercing by Tomo, Steve

Big Wills Tattoo Studio, 15 Eastern Avenue Den Tattooist, Heather Griffin & Rob. Laser removal available
Trent Valley Shops, Lichfield, WS13 6TE • Tel: 01543 898766 Piercing by Mr. Parris 107 Three Shires Oak Road,
[email protected] 155 Uttoxeter New Road, Derby, DE22 3NP Smethwick, West Midlands, B67 5BT
,big wills tattoo studio /bigwillstattoos Tel: 01332 492059 Tel: 0121 429 1566 ,
[email protected] [email protected]
www.bigwillstattoos.co.uk ,/ mytruecolourtattoostudio www.tattoosbytomo.com
DIRECTORY
ALL 1 TRIBE—LEICESTERSHIRE STUDIO 69 TATTOO & PIERCING—LONDON
Tattoos by Desmond Byrne, Stefan Kyriacou & Nico Lanio

Piercings by Ruth & Alex
All 1 Tribe, 6 Adam & Eve Street, Market Harborough LE16 7LT Laser tattoo removal also available Tel: 0208 531 4947
01858 434241 [email protected] 6 Chingford Rd, Walthamstow, London, E17 4PJ • , Studio 69 Tattoo and Piercing
Tattoos by Leigh. Piercings by Lou ,/ All 1 Tribe
www.all1tribe.co.uk www.studio69tattoo-piercing.co.uk
SMOKING GUNS TATTOO STUDIO NUTZ TATTOO & PIERCING STUDIO—WARE HAPPY SAILOR TATTOOS—SHOREDITCH
Smoking Guns Tattoo Studio, 2 Horsemarket, Kettering NN16 0DG 01536 601235
[email protected] Aritsts - Mark V, Mcilvenny, Abbie & Billy
Tattoos by Nutz & Jackie. Piercing Tattoos by - Tota, James & TOBY
,Smoking Guns Tattoo Studio by Jackie Tel: 01920 469721 Piercings by Tota, manager: shane
27 Church Street, ware, 17 Hackney Road, Shoreditch
hertfordshire, sg12 9eh London, E2 7NX Tel: 020 7033 9222
www.nutztattoo.com ,/ happy sailor tattoo
, nutz tattoo www.happysailortattoo.com
Black Skull Tattoos • HAMMERSMITH, LONDON

Tel: 02036 433836 ,/
,/Inkspirationz
FireFly Tattoo Company - East Sussex 110 Ruislip Road • UB6 9QH Greenford Mettle Nettle Tattoo and Piercing
Tel: 01323847434 020 8575 5280 • inkspirationz.co.uk studio Tel: 01245600133
Dor Stocker Tattoos - Bexleyheath www.fireflytattoo.co.uk , ,/www.jeffwharnsby.co.uk
Tel: 02083030198 ,/
www.dorstockertattoos.com
MARLOW TATTOO LOUNGE

Tel: 01628 473979 Ouch Tattoos - Essex, Tel: 01992 711917
Diamond Jacks Tattoo Co - London Inklectic Tattoo, London , MARLOWTATTOOLOUNGE ,/www.ouchtattoostudio.co.uk
Tel: 0207 437 0605 , Tel: 02073 544888 ,/
www.diamondjacks.co.uk
/scarred for life tattoo STUDIO ,/ Ink Fact - Hackney, London Old London Road Tattoos - Kingston
Crate 9, 15 Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate Tel: 02085 333334 ,/ ,@deadmanstatts upon Thames Tel: 0208 549 4705
Loughton • IG10 3TZ • 020 3488 3228 www.inkfacttattoo.com deadmanstatts.co.uk • 01303254958 www.oldlondonroad.co.uk ,/
TRUE WILL TATTOOS—DORKING
The UK’s favourite

Pain Divine - Croydon
Tel: 0208 686 6136 ,
www.paindivine.co.uk tattoo magazine
True Will Tattoos
5-6 Beare Green Court
Old Horsham road, Beare green
is available on iPad,
Rh54sl 07896 298833
Tattooing by Dee, Sophie and Rosie.
Piercing by Gemma. Tues-sat 10-5
And we are an all female studio
iPhone and Android
Phoenix Rising - Chesham
Tel: 01494 792392 ,
WANDERLUST TATTOOS—CROYDON devices
www.phoenixrisingtattooshop.com
Paradiso Custom Tattoo & Piercing

LONDON TEL: 07952 633736
,/paradisocustomtattoo/ Tel: 02034905978 ,/
www.wanderlusttattoo.co.uk
EAST
Tattoo Studio 149 - London

Tel: 020 8544 0304 /
,tattoo studio 149 The Ink Room Tattoo Studio
WICKHAM MARKET • tel: 01728748125 ,
www.theinkroomtattoostudio.co.uk
Woody's Tattoo Studio - High Wycombe

Tel: 01494 464023 , Vivamorta • Art by Steph Finnola Reed
www.woodystattoostudio.com /Vivamorta • Abrakadavra Tattoo
Studio Ipswich
[email protected]
www.skindeep.co.uk
Sammy Kent • Point 2 Point CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

13 Pier Road, Erith, Kent DA8 1TA
01322 341011 • ,/ @startattooist Devaney Tattoos • Leighanne Devaney
01362693333 • Www.devaneytattoos.co.uk
,Devaney Tattoos • /Devaney_Tattoos
PIERCING & OTHER
Skin Deep is available on iPad, iPhone,

Kindle Fire and a mix of other Android devices.*
* To see if your Android device is compatible with the app, download the free issue.
Underground Tattoos & Piercing - Watford Jenny Clarke Design • Tel: 01509 264 110
Tel: 01923 288447 ,/- www.jennyclarkedesign.com
www.undergroundtattoos.co.uk
TATTOO OF THE MONTH
discovered at Szczecin Tattoo Convention 2019
Do we really need to say anything about this? No. I don’t think so.
Simply a great tattoo—discovered at Szczecin Tattoo Convention—that is loaded with effect. We often see ‘effect’ tattoos but
never done quite so elegantly as this, it’s just plain excellent.
We can all see how much work has gone into this and whoever this unknown (but we’re working on it) artist is… well, they’re
probably going to be able to dine out on it for a very long time. It’s ‘one of those’.
Enough said.
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THE UK'S BEST SELLING TATTOO MAGAZINE

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EDITOR CREDIT CONTROL TECHNICAL DIRECTOR ISSN 0966-4351

good—it can take your vocal and ﬁx it. It can

Is it a good or a bad thing? I’m still wres-

6 • SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

Why do we define artistic success by online popularity?

8 • SKIN DEEP MAGAZINE

WIN ONE OF FIVE PAIRS

October 11, 2019—Norm dies.

How do you do to gather together 10 years of work in 90 photos ?

Was the idea to do a complete and representative panorama of an era ?

How do these portraits connect with the title of the book Figures

That is what you consider a good portrait ?

What is the common point between all

Who are the other meetings you remember speciﬁcally?

How far does your interest in tattooing date back?

When did you get your ﬁrst tattoo?

What is your vision of tattooing?

Take one look at Kiera’s work and you’ll quickly notice a

AS A SECOND-GENERATION TATTOOIST, CAN YOU SPEAK ON YOUR FIRST MEMORIES OF THE

Kev Richardson Jnr is a tattooist who’s not

The esoteric, occult styles

When someone books a tattoo with me I always stress

“i would hate for someoneeyto’d

“tattooing really is a very

“tattoos will always be a

“my predominant focus is to enarsure the

BOYS OR GIRLS THAT A our world every day.

Morgan, started Shielding Survivors Tattoo to connect

TO REEXAMINE EVERYTHING I is inspiring, and has the ability to help create

WORLD AROUND ME Protector”, my head filled with imagery of

for this year is a winner on a whole stack of levels.

See website for terms and conditions.

Rob Sedgebeer Lewis Wynnyk

Joker Tattoo Studio - Belfast Naughty Needles - Bolton

sco t l an d we s t mi dla nds

If you would like to be listed in the Skin Shots directory, contact

The Ink Minx - Montrose

ADDICTION TATTOO AND PIERCING – BANGOR

bushman Ink - Whitburn TJ's Tattoo Studio - Kilmarnock

Tattoos by Rebekah, Piercings by Greg

SKINZ TATTOO STUDIO — LEEDS SOTA CUSTOM TATTOO — LLANTWIT MAJOR

PURPLE MOON TATTOOS — CONNAHS QUAY

Talisman Tattoo Art Studio - York Physical Graffiti - Cardiff

Tattoos by Mick & Luke

Opulent Ink - Wolverhampton Tribal Images Tattoo Studios - Hanley

Tattoos by Ollie Tye

PULSE TATTOO & PIERCING—NORTHAMPTON

Rendition - Nuneaton LUCKY CHARLIE TATTOOS, RANDWICK

Tattoos by Andy X Edge, Simon Walden & Niall Barton.

Tattoos by Tony - Birmingham Andy Barber's New Rose Tattoo Studio

Tattoos by Karl Ormond, Tattooing & piercing by Tomo, Steve

ALL 1 TRIBE—LEICESTERSHIRE STUDIO 69 TATTOO & PIERCING—LONDON

Tattoos by Desmond Byrne, Stefan Kyriacou & Nico Lanio

Black Skull Tattoos • HAMMERSMITH, LONDON

MARLOW TATTOO LOUNGE

The UK’s favourite

Paradiso Custom Tattoo & Piercing

Tattoo Studio 149 - London

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