Category: Features

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Modern Woman, Indigenous Spirit

The story behind Laurence Moniasse Sessou’s tattoos and scarification

Photography and Art Direction – Josh Brandao / Model – Laurence Moniasse Sessou / Words/Story – Laurence Moniasse Sessou and Alice Snape / Illustrations and Set Dressing – Katerina Samoilis / Styling – Olivia Snape / Make-up and Hair – Anna Wild using Nars / Septum Ring – Studio Lil Art and Design / Earrings – Manaka Handmade / Thanks to India Ame ‘Ye’

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From a very young age, I have always been fascinated by body art, everything that seemed a bit forbidden and weird, I pay attention to. I was always a dreamer and would often get in trouble for not conforming and being different (mainly from my peers in the neighbourhood). I grew up in a small town in France called Evreux. It wasn’t easy being a teenager, I’ve experienced a fair bit of bullying while growing up.

I have always been fascinated by body art, everything that seemed a bit forbidden and weird

I came to London for the first time in 1999, when I was 20 years old, to pay a visit to my sister. From that moment, I knew I had to come back to that sense of freedom. London was so big and messy, but I knew I could find myself in that mess. A year later, in 2000, I came back, supposedly, for one year to learn English – but I never looked back. I graduated in 2007 with a Bsc Natural Therapeutics (Bodywork and Neuromuscular therapy) from the University of Westminster. I have been practicing for over eight years now and hold two busy practices in London.

While I was at university, I started travelling, Thailand was my first big trip – I was amazed by the Thai culture and, of course, tattoo was part of it. One of my friends at the time had her full leg tattooed, I thought it was insane. I loved it, but never thought it would be my cup of tea. This idea of having something permanently on my body freaked me out. But as I travelled more through the world, I became more open to many things, including spirituality and body marking. My first tattoos were two little ankhs on my wrists. I was 21 and in London at the time. Then I went on another trip to Thailand and decided to get
a fairy on my right shoulder, it was an African fairy that looked nothing like a fairy after a few months. I had started losing a bit of weight and her face disappeared.

I love flowers. They are beautiful, feminine – I just love they way they always face towards the sun

I guess the big trigger to my transformation started in Mexico, when I went to Palenque for the first time. That’s where I met tattoo artist Sanya Youalli, and we had a chat. I was originally there just to view her work, but our conversation ended with starting to decorate my left arm with flowers and spirals. I love flowers. They are beautiful, feminine – I just love they way they always face towards the sun, I like to see myself as a flower and always look and walk towards the light. I love the warmth and the way the sun kisses my skin. Spirals symbolise infinity, this ocean of opportunity that never ends. I could have my body covered in them, I can’t see myself falling out of love with these symbols. Sanya and I became close friends, we’re like sisters, every time I go to Mexico, she continues work on my arm and when she came to London for the tattoo convention, last year, she stayed at my home and we carried on.

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Then I was looking for another artist to do a cover up of my right arm, Sanya had started doing some kind of removal work for the fairy, but we didn’t get a chance to cover it completely. I knew I wanted it to be covered as soon as possible, so I searched for another artist. I found Touka Voodoo at the Divine Canvas studio – again it was an instant connection. I loved his work, so Touka did the cover up of my right shoulder and we carried on the theme of flowers and spirals – I have a full sleeve now. I also met Iestyn at Divine Canvas, I knew the kind of work he specialised in: scarification and piercings. I remember thinking to myself, “Who on Earth in this age would want to go through this?’ He proposed to perform scarification on me as he’d never worked on black/African skin before. I told him, “No way! You will never cut my skin, never!’

About a year later, I was going through some changes in my life and my spiritual practice started to become more important. I initially wanted to tattoo my back with some symbols of my spiritual path, I spoke to my sister about it and she thought that my skin tone was so beautiful, if I did tattoo my back, my arm work would disappear. That is when the idea of the scarification came to me. I thought it would be a way to embrace my spiritual practice, as well as my tribal African roots. One day I went to see Iestyn, we discussed the design and we started. Iestyn knew me for about a year and he understood my journey and where I was coming from – I trusted him fully with it, he was absolutely amazing.

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The meaning of the symbols – the cross in the middle is ‘the Chakana’ sacred cross where the fire of life burns, the four arrows around it represent the four nations and four directions, flowers symbolise beauty and femininity, spirals symbolise infinity, and dots for their simplicity – and how lovely they look. To me, it is like carrying my dream in my back: the four nations enjoying the fire of life together in the four corners of the globe, in beauty and harmony with each other and nature… It sounds a bit dreamy, but that is the truth. I live to see a better world and become a better person.

Having the scarification done was very challenging, particularly the healing – it is a long and painful process. I was not been able to sleep on my back for over seven months. When the keloids form, it is very itchy. Receiving the scar wasn’t as bad as people may think, of course, you feel it as the first cut is done without anaesthetic, but there is no other way to go through it, you must feel and transcend the pain – and it is a beautiful feeling. I was very high at the end of it, feeling super-human.

I didn’t think the scar was going to raise that much, I thought I would have a very discreet design on my back, but my body decided how it was going to turn out and I love it! It is quite bold and shocking for some people, but I don’t really care, the journey and the story behind this back is worth it.

The chest scarification was also performed by Iestyn and filmed live by Nick Knight back in May 2013, it was supposed to be used for a music video, but it wasn’t in the end. But, hey, I got paid to have a beautiful piece of body art work on my chest and got the amazing opportunity to work with a genius like Nick Knight. It was a dream come true.

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I didn’t realise how emotional I was going to feel about doing this photo shoot for The Modification Issue using pictures of my family, including my mother and grandmothers. I started to have tears in my eyes, because I know how powerful and brave these women are and I know the struggle they have been through in life and in labour. They respectively brought my mother and my father, and my mum brought me into this world. I feel deeply grateful and proud to be a fruit of their lives, I feel they are still living through me, and my nephews and nieces, they are eternal. And I hope that from wherever they are, they are watching over with pride, their lives will always be celebrated.

 Laurence’s story was first published in Things & Ink magazine, when we were in print.

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Tattoo Street Style by Alice Snape

Our editor Alice Snape’s Tattoo Street Style book came out last year. It features more than 400 original portraits in cities from London and Brighton to LA and NYC, and a directory of studios in each city, a guide to tattoo styles and a personal foreword from tattoo artist Cally-Jo. Here’s a peek inside, and the reasons why Alice wrote the book.

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Derryth Ridge, spotted in Brighton. Photo by Heather Shuker

I’ve always been fascinated by people and enjoyed glimpsing them from afar, and spying what they’re up to. When I travel to a new city, my favourite thing to do is find a little café and sit sipping a cup of coffee, watching the world go by. I love looking what someone has chosen to wear or their hair colour, wondering why I might be drawn to that person’s particular style, the way they walk or hold themselves. I make up little stories about them in my mind – perhaps they are on their way to a meeting, to call on a friend, to hang out at the park or to go to work? This fascination is why I fell in love with street style photography. I love that it captures a moment, a city, a person at that exact point in time. Street-style photos tell a story – tiny but complete – of a place and the people in it.

Manni Kalsi, spotted in London. Photo by Heather Shuker
Manni Kalsi, spotted in London.
Photo by Heather Shuker

What I have loved about writing this book is not only capturing a sense of each city, but working with different photographers in each location, whom we briefed to capture their city through their own lens. The result doesn’t just provide a snapshot, it communicates a particular vision, with each photographer contributing his or her own unique style and interpretation of what ‘street style’ looks like.

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Simone Thompson, spotted in New York. Photo by Elena Mudd

Alongside the imagery, I have loved delving further into what motivates each of those people and gathering snippets of their life stories. This volume of Tattoo Street Style allows me to introduce you to some prominent figures in the tattoo world, such as Wendy Pham in Berlin and Angelique Houtkamp in Amsterdam. But we’ve also spoken with random inhabitants of the eight cities we have featured – people I never would have discovered if I hadn’t written this book. In my everyday life, I often wish I could stop someone in the street and find out more about them – this book has given me the chance to do just that. In London, businesswoman Sian Rusu shared that her tattoos make her feel “different – and difference is what makes us unique”. In contrast, Berlin’s stylist Flora Amelie talks honestly about sometimes questioning her decision to become heavily tattooed, a revelation you wouldn’t expect from someone who portrays such confidence.

Flora Amalie Pedersen spotted in Berlin. Photo by Lisa Jane
Flora Amalie Pedersen spotted in Berlin.
Photo by Lisa Jane

It has been a joy to curate this compendium of tattoos and fashion in eight of my favourite places around the world, cities I have lived in, loved spending time in and dream of returning to. I love that it will immortalise this period in time. I love that one day, someone will look at it as a historical document, in the way that I have looked at old photos of tattooed women from the 1940s. What feels so thoughtfully current now as you flick through the pages will one day be but a memory of our own moment in time.

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Cally-Jo, spotted in Brighton. Photo by Heather Shuker

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In all good bookshops and available to order online here

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Shedding Some Light on Black Light Tattoos

Rusty Smart from Black Amethyst Tattoo Gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida reveals the secrets behind black light tattoos and their growing popularity… 

C’mon, admit it – the thought of your tattoos glowing like a nuclear-waste spawned superhero is pretty cool. And although not everyone will actually go for it, there’s no denying that UV ink is hot.

First things first – tattoos that incorporate UV inks do not – repeat – do not – glow in the dark like those greenish star stickers that were on your childhood bedroom ceiling (or your current bedroom ceiling if you are living a rave till the grave vibe). That’s because they use ultraviolet-reactive ink, which needs the glow of a black light bulb or tube to show and glow. No light, no bueno.

As with any new or newish tattoo technique, it’s important that you work with an artist who is knowledgeable and experienced. No one wants you to be a guinea pig. Except maybe other guinea pigs.

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UV ink is generally thinner, and many artists would say harder to work with. That means it’s best suited for highlighting designs, like providing the glow of a firefly or the flames of a rocket or the sexy stare of an alien.

UV ink can feel more like gray wash than normal color to the artist applying it. Care must be taken not to overwork the skin. Lighter colours – yellow, pink, orange and some greens – reflect better than darker hues like blue and purple. Stencil residue can contaminate UV ink, so it’s important to work clean as well.

After healing, the UV sections of tattoos can appear almost pastel. They have a delicate tone and can be mistaken for watercolor work. UV tattoos can remain “active” for years, the same way that brightly coloured tatts can stay vibrant for a long time. Skillful application, conscientious healing and aftercare are vital to longevity.

The safety of glowing UV inks is an open question, but remember, the FDA doesn’t approve any inks for dermal injection. According to the FDA, “many pigments used in tattoo inks are industrial-grade colours suitable for printers’ ink or automobile paint,” implying disapproval but not actually condemning their use. When talking to artists who have done black light tattoos, they report about the usual rate of irritation and scarring as in other tattoos.

If you’re to step into the next wave of ink adornment, talk to your artist and consider the pros and cons. Then boldly go where few have been before…in the dark, with black lights blazing.

What do you think? Do you have a UV tattoo or want one? Let us know.

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Interview with Kajsa Franzén

Tattoo artist Kajsa Franzén is based in Ubud, Bali and in Gothenburg, Sweden. Having sold her female only studio, Red Rose Tattoo, in 2017, Kajsa moved abroad to seek new adventures, she’s been working ‘on the road’ ever since. We caught up with Kajsa to chat all things tattooing and what it mans to be a woman in the industry. She also asks the question – are you a real artist or an Instagram artist?

kajsa1How long have you been tattooing? 12 years of tattooing. And two years apprenticeship – so 14 years in this business!

What made you want to become a tattooist? I was curious how I could make a living out of something where I could be creative every day! When I started in 2006, there were not many female tattoo artists at all, so I wasn’t too sure if it would be possible. I didn’t know anything about the business but as I figured it out I knew I wanted to be a part of it and actually be a part of a big change for the female artists movement! I was lucky to meet my teacher as he just moved from New York` to my hometown. He rose to the challenge of teaching me when I had zero experience.

There were a lot of male artists that tried to put me down and make me stop learning they would say that I was just a groupie. So I thought ‘fuck them, I will prove them wrong. 

Do you have a background in art? No, I’m self thought but I come from a very artistic and creative family filled with artists, painters, art teachers, sculptors. All of whom inspired me to become something I wanted to be. 

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How would you describe your style? I think my style is hard to describe, because it varies, I don’t only work in one style. But its foundation is in old school traditional, with a fusion of new bold and bright colours, shapes and details. Sometimes it is inspired by geometric and mehdi patterns and sometimes it’s infused with neo-trad style.

Some tattoo magazines have described my style as ‘psychedelic new old school’ which I kind of like! 

What inspires or influences your work?I probably get most of my inspiration from nature, animals and the universe. I meditate a lot and do yoga, so my inspiration comes from inside myself, maybe the chakras. And my colour pattern is choosen from the colours I see when I meditate or during healing as well as from nature. Of course I get inspired by other tattoo artists and art, but that is part of what we do.

Are there any artists that you admire?A lot. I couldn’t name just one, but I mainly admire hard working artists that draw their own designs. Nowadays there are so many toys that make tattooing so easy, too easy I think. Everyone can be a super star without any effort really but the hard working artists that draw with a pen and paper would survive even without the internet and a printer.

Living in Indonesia and Bali, I have also gotten to know some of the traditional hand tapping artists that use nothing but a needle on a stick, drawing directly onto the skin. I admire that style of raw tattooing.

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What do you like to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I think I am a ‘go with the flow’ kind of custom artist. My clients never get to see their design until I meet them on the tattoo day, unless they have very specific requests. So I usually go with the flow and design upon their idea, choose the colours depending on my mood and how I and the client feel that day.

It usually stays very colourful. I love colours and contrasts, patterns and details. I think I would love to do more spiritual and occult, wicca, pagan, sourcery, nature and creature designs. Could be small symbols, or big pieces. I love to tattoo thighs! 

How would you describe your experience as a female in the tattoo industry?I think I don’t have the best experience, but it never stopped me doing what I love. I also have tons of good experiences too! 

Starting in 2006, there weren’t many female artists at all in my town, the second biggest city in the country, only had 4 or 5 female tattoo artists amongst maybe 80 males. I got to know the female tattooers and they all said the same thing and warned me to be on my guard. Because to be a girl in this buisness, you have to sharpen your elbows, have a lot of hard skin and work 10 times harder than a dude.

I was told many times that I was not good enough, people tried to bully me and fool me to make me look bad or to put me down. There was one time when my teacher was sick and I was alone in the shop with this other tattoo artist, he was there to supervise me while I had a client. While I was setting up my station, he came over and recommended that I use another black lining ink for lines, and said this was the best ink he ever tried. I trusted him so I used it on my poor client, tattooing black stars on her chest. Little did I know, the lines spread very quickly and I panicked – it was a nightmare.

He would also steal clients infront of me when no one else in the shop to hear us. Telling the clients I was shit, so they better book in with him instead. I have had male artist, that I know, commenting on my Facebook posts, that I suck and I shouldn’t continue what I am doing.

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Did these experiences lead you to open a female-only shop? I think that was the reason I opened Red Rose Tattoo, with only female artists in 201 – one of the first female artist shops in Sweden. I think there was only one before mine, up in the north parts of Sweden. Called ‘Man’s Ruin Tattoo’ such a brilliant name! 

I wanted to keep a space free from the things I experienced. I wanted to have a space where there were no sex jokes or male artists seducing the female clients. I wanted to have a cosier shop, no pee on the toilet seat, not beeing accused of having my period if they thought I was being grumpy.

But the problem is not only with male artists, I learned that after a few years of running my shop. I have also been backstabbed by my own female shop collegues a couple of times. I think mostly from jealousy and low self esteem. Maybe a bit of mental illness and perhaps drug related problems, but definitely a lack of manners, humbleness and respect to others.

But I do have a lot of tattoo business friends who have lovely attitudes to each other, both male and female, always treating each other with respect. We share our thoughts and techniques, we talk about machines, what brand of needles we use, we help eachother, without any ulterior motive. Just pure friendship and love.

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What do you think of the tattoo industry as a whole?Both good and bad. As with most things in life. It is getting a little bit out of control. The ‘industry’ is growing too fast. Too many artists, too many new inks, needles, products brands and too many fake people. I think it is too easy, there’s too much focus on social media and how many followers you have and how you look. I see a lot of artists hungry for attention so they also use their tattoo platform to post modelling pictures of themselves. They care if you are beeing sponsored or not, if you are cool enough to talk to or to follow on social media. It has become a game. A mad game.One good friend of mine said recently ‘we either have to play the game by the new rules or stay out of the game’.

Do you think social media has changed he tattoo world? There are some truly amazing hard working and honest artists around the world! But there are also a lot of artists using modern tools to edit mistakes to make flawless tattoos, people buying followers, hiring someone to answer your emails and calls because they are beeing lazy or too busy playing the social media game. Now, the whole tattoo industry is worshipping social media.

Clients check how many followers the artist has rather than check if they can actually do a straight line. You wouldn’t know anyway because of all the filters and photoshopped pictures.The hype over ‘fine line’ tattoos where no one really cares if it looks good when it heals. It is just too much to be honest. I love the old fashion business, keeping it real.

That is why I love to see healed work, no filter, just real work, by real artists. I think that is the proof of what you actually are. Are you a tattoo artist or an Instagram artist? When I started there were no Facebook or Instagram. But the industry has adapted, that’s positive all the new tools like Instagram have helped artists a lot, it’s a good way to get clients, to promote and share your work. I think I get most of my new clients from Instagram.

The world now is more ‘instant’, everything should happen fast. You can make your own advertising within a few minutes. You don’t have to wait one month until the next issue of the tattoo magazine comes out with your recent work in it.

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What advice would you give your younger self when you were starting out? Don’t trust people too easily, don’t let people take advantage of you, do your thing and keep developing yourself, and stay away from the drama. 

Are you doing any conventions or guestspots soon? Yes! Since I moved to Bali, I don’t have a studio anymore so I am more free to travel! When I’m at conventions I still use my name Red Rose Tattoo so look out for that.

I used to work in tattoo studios in Bali, but the standards and knowledge about hygiene were very low, and it can be very complicated and expensive to get a work permit. So I guest in friends’ shops and create my art and jewellery – it works out fine for me!

I usually go to my friend’s shop in Singapore Bada Bink Tattoo Firm next time I’ll go there will probably be in December or January. Sometimes I guest in my friend’s shop in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia at Wayang Kulit Tattoo, it is close to Bali. I enjoy working a few days or and then going back to my lazy and slow Bali life.

I still have many regular and faithful clients in Sweden, so I am very lucky to manage this lifestyle because of them! I travel 2 or 3 months every year to visit my family and friends in Sweden. And when I am in Sweden, I work in my former teacher’s shop in Gothenburg 5 Points Tattoo. I am also attending some conventions around Europe each right now I am preparing for the Icelandic Tattoo Expo.