Embracing female tattoo culture
Spanish illustrator Grace Garcia has created a series of drawings for Issue 7 of No Cure Magazine, an Australian indie art culture publication.
GIRL POWER is 84 pages devoted to the many kick-ass, talented chicks out there creating cool shit for those of us who appreciate cool shit.
Grace’s illustrations perfectly capture this notion as the women are covered in self-made tattoos and doing a whole host of sporting activities.
Our guest blogger is psychologist, freelance writer and creator of the blog Dream Electric, Ally Richards. In this post she considers cultural appropriation and tattoos.
Heritage often acts as a source of inspiration for tattoos. It’s also equally common for tattoo collectors to adorn their bodies with representations of other cultures – perhaps memories of places visited or finding inspiration in another population’s practices.
When getting a tattoo referencing a culture that is not your own, issues can arise. We cringe at the (often misspelt) Chinese character tattoos that attracted popularity in the 90s and the use of other cultures as “exotic” or “edgy”. Beyond these examples is the possibility that the tattoo will provoke offense in members of the cultural group referenced and the wearer may be accused of “cultural appropriation”.
What is cultural appropriation? A quick google quickly evidences the controversy behind the term – angry voices making claims of racism and further angry voices proclaiming freedom of expression. In brief, cultural appropriation refers to a majority group who adopts the symbols and signs of a minority group. A power dynamic is inherent; the privileged group (often white and western) takes from an oppressed and marginalised group. This differs from “cultural exchange”, in which the trading between groups is mutual. The power lies in the hands of the majority group – they get to choose which symbols they take on and stand to benefit from this appropriation. This “accessorisation” trivialises and erases the oppression experienced by the minority group.
But I’m not racist, I just think it’s pretty…
Headdress by Ben Klishevskiy
A recent example of cultural appropriation is the wearing of “Red Indian headdresses”, which have become popular accessories. The headdresses (known as warbonnets) have a deep spiritual significance in Native American culture. Native Americans are also a minority group who have a history of oppression and suffering at the hands of Americans. The wearing of the headdresses encourages stereotypes and when worn with skimpy festival-wear it promotes the sexualisation of an ethnic group which already has a high level of sexual assault perpetrated against them. This year Glastonbury banned the sale of the headdresses at the festival for these reasons.
Mandala by Jonathan Toogood
But what about tattoos? Unlike a culturally insensitive costume, a tattoo is usually carefully considered and a lifelong commitment, not a trend to be picked up when convenient. However, by the above definition, cultural appropriation is very common in tattoo culture. Many white people sport tribal blackwork designs inspired by Maori culture. Mexican “sugar skull” designs and mandala tattoos inspired by Hindu and Buddhist practices have become increasingly popular. All of these designs come from cultures that have been historically (and in many cases still currently) oppressed by white people. Is this problematic?
Skull by Mike Harper
You are free to present your body in whichever way you choose, and your tattoos are your own choice. However, others also have the right to be offended and express this. If you decide to get a tattoo representing a minority culture, you should be prepared for this possibility. Although your intention is not to be racist, others may see it as such.
If you are in the white majority, it is not for you to decide what is and is not offensive to other groups. Inform yourself of the history and significance around your chosen design and discuss this with members of that community. You may find it helpful to speak to a tattoo artist from that culture. It may be possible to incorporate the aspects of the symbol you find appealing into a more culturally respectful tattoo. Above all, regardless of the eventual choice you make, being thoughtful is key. A tattoo is for life and you don’t want to be spending your later years defending it! Careful consideration of the cultural context around your tattoo may avoid unintentional offense and embarrassment in the future.
Peacocks are such beautiful birds, what with their colourful plumage and regal air, also we think they make even better looking tattoos. Here’s our pick of some of the peacock tattoos we have seen recently…
Celebrate all things fruity with the recent release of The Fruity Issue. Here at Things&Ink we love discovering new tattoo artists who also share our love of fruit and fruity tattoos. We chatted to 29-year-old Schuyler Abrams who works at Savannah Ink in Savannah Georgia to find out more about his spooky and fruity bat tattoos that he has become known for…
How long have you been tattooing? I’ve been tattooing since July 2013, so I just hit my two year mark! I’ve still got a lot to learn and room to grow in this industry.
How did you get into the industry? I’ve always considered a career in the art world but it wasn’t until late 2012 that I actually started giving tattooing a serious thought. I was working multiple jobs and doing a bit of freelance artwork at the time. One day I came across an internet post from a good buddy of mine who had recently become a tattoo artist himself. His post was a picture of his tattoo machines with the caption: “my job is better than yours.” I figured, “he’s probably got a point”, so I got a portfolio together and asked if his shop had an apprenticeship available. He talked it over with the owner, Duke, and got me an interview. Duke took one look at my artwork and gave me the apprenticeship on the spot and the rest is history.
Do you have a background in art? Aside from a high school art class and hours of Bob Ross videos, just about all aspects of my artwork is self-taught. I’ve done a few cool freelance jobs doing band posters and album artwork, but that’s about the extent of my professional art career.
How would you describe your style? My style is something that I’ve been trying to cultivate for years. It’s a bit of new school with some touches of old traditional. I love taking weird/macabre subject matter and juxtaposing it with bright colors and bold lines. The way I draw is constantly evolving the more I learn.
Where do you get your inspiration? I get most of my inspiration from 60s and 80s horror, Saturday morning cartoons, anime, and dad jokes. Jamie Hewlett’s work on the Gorillaz really changed my life as well.
What was your first tattoo? First tattoo I ever got takes up the length of my left forearm. It’s a drawing I did of an octopus jack-o-lantern (Oct-O-Lantern as I like to call it). I got it tattooed by Johnny Theif of Seppuku Tattoo back in 2007. I was hooked instantly!
Who would you like to get tattooed by, are there any artists you admire? There are so many great tattoo artists out there these days! I’d really love to get pieces from Kelly Doty and Timmy B. Their attention to detail and the smoothness of their techniques is outstanding! I really admire a lot of local tattooers as well, including Cory Hand, Corey Steverson and Josh Hilliard just to name a few. All rad dudes who do rad tattoos.
We love your fruit bats how did these come about? The fruit bats actually evolved from an idea that Michael Ferrera had. He came to me asking for a tattoo. When we were discussing ideas, he described “a strawberry with bat wings! …fruit bat! Get it?!”I loved the idea so I made a mental note as he rambled off other tattoo concepts. I drew it up, but when he came to get tattooed we ended up going with a completely different design. I held onto the fruit bat drawing for a few months until one day my co-worker’s sister came into the shop. She took one look at the drawing and fell in love with it. It was a slow day at the shop and I was really itching to tattoo it so I zapped it on her as a favor.
A few months later one of the Savannah Derby Devils saw the strawberry fruit bat tattoo and commissioned me to do a grape version. Little did I know that that was the beginning of the fruit bat trend. Since then it’s become a team initiation of sorts for the Savannah Derby Devils to get a fruit bat tattoo. I’m currently up to seventeen different fruit bats with more already on the way. This weird trend I started doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Hopefully I don’t run out of fruits to draw!
We chatted to 31-year-old tattoo artist and jewellery maker Holly Astral from Hertfordshire about her painting style, her inspirations and the art shows she has been involved in.
Do you have a background in art? I studied art at school and college before doing a degree in model making and special effects. With regards to painting and drawing I’m self taught, just figuring things out as I go along.
How did you get your apprenticeship? Why did you want to become a tattooist? I am trained as a model maker, and spent the first ten or so years of my working life prototyping toys and products for manufacture. To cut a long story short, I realised I wasn’t in love with what I was doing any more and decided to make a change. I love to paint and draw, and I had been thinking about expanding this. I wanted to learn to tattoo for years, but it was always a kind of distant far away dream. It occured to me that the only way to learn would be to make that dramatic change and immerse myself fully into learning to tattoo. I was working for myself at the time, so I stopped saying yes to model making jobs, closed my toy making company and got cracking with finding an apprenticeship!
How long have you been tattooing? Just over a year, but it’s gone so quickly! This year has flown by. I am loving every minute of it!
What kinds of things do you like to tattoo? I love tattooing animals and flowers the most so far! Flowers look so lovely flowing across the body. I am still just working on smaller, simple pieces right now.
How would you describe your tattoo style? I’m still just getting started, so my style is still very much in the developing stages. I’d say it’s pretty girly and some times cute but not too cutesy-poo. And more spacey, dreamy and magical when it comes to my art. In terms of painting I love to paint spacey pin up style ladies, and I hope my tattooing takes me in that kind of direction once I’ve built my skills up further to do larger pieces.
What mediums do you use? Oil paints mostly, sometimes acrylics. I always add some gold leaf to each painting, too. I like a bit of sparkle
Where do you get your inspiration from? Magic, nature, films – I love fantasy films and anything with ghosts or aliens in it. I am also really inspired by the vast loneliness of space, it kind of depends on how I’m feeling that day. Usually I start by sketching away in my sketchbook, I draw every single day, and then I see which ones start to flesh out and feel real to me on their own. My favourite part of any drawing is adding all the tattoos and long swishing hair.
Can you tell me about the gallery shows you have been involved in? I’ve exhibited at galleries in Europe and the USA, including The Sho Gallery Wales, Forbidden Planet London and the Japanese American National Museum in LA. A lot of the shows in the states I sent my work over, but I always prefer to go to the show and getting to meet all the other artists involved. My art has taken me all over the place, all around England and Wales, and LA. I used to run my own line of collectible plush toys called Cavey, I produced a small numbered run of them each month in a different design, a bit like beanie babies. For Cavey’s birthday each year I would put on an art show where other artists and toy designers would contribute their own interpretation of the Cavey platform. The show was held at a pop up location each year in London, but one year I put the show on in LA. That was a lot of fun!
In April I put on my first solo show at Toycon in the UK and I’ve also curated shows at pop-up locations in London and LA.
Were the pieces you created for the galleries based around themes? Often the show will have a running theme that the artists are encouraged to work to, and I really like to work this way. Having a little bit of direction as to what to produce really gets the creative juices flowing!
A favourite show of mine was ‘Dragons’ which took place in Wales. Each artist was given a blank plastic dragon toy to customise, and everyone made their own interpretation of he platform. I made mine in the image of Falcor from The Never Ending Story. It was such a fun night!
Where can people buy your art? I have a small online shop where I sell my silver jewellery. My artwork is available to purchase privately by emailing me at hollyastral@gmail.com
Holly is currently doing guest spots in Hertfordshire, if you’d like to get tattooed by her email: hollyastral@gmail.com
Follow Holly on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr for more artwork and tattoos.