Tattoo politics: if I could turn back time…

Perhaps you’ve fallen out with the artist, maybe they moved away or it was badly executed, but is it ever, really, okay, to get another tattooer to complete someone else’s work?

This feature was written by Alice Snape, and originally published in Total Tattoo, September 2019.

ALICE BACK BEFORE

I look at my back in the mirror. I try not to regret the huge tattoo that travels from my neck right down to my bum. That butterfly lady now looks at me, mocking. I wish I could rewind to that time, pre tattoo, when my back was bare. Tell myself to wait. The tattoo reminds me of the tattoo artist I would rather forget. But I can’t forget whose hands my tattoo is by, the hours I spent under his needle, and how I felt bullied into getting it in the first place.

I started getting tattooed when I was 22, later than most, I was always overthinking, worrying about what I wanted, where it should go, and who should do it. Since I started writing about tattoos, apparently I have become an expert on them – I have presented documentaries, I even edited a tattoo magazine  – yet I still made a mistake. The advice I gave to others, I didn’t follow myself. The back is that huge piece of canvas that shouldn’t be wasted – or so I tell people. It is prime real estate for a custom piece of art by a tattoo artist that you love, whose work you will forever wear with pride.

However, somehow a quick chat about possible ideas with [the tattoo artist] accelerated at a rapid pace and I was booked in for a backpiece. I travelled all the way to Berlin for my first session. An epic eight hours of linework, travelling back on the plane was agony. And something about the whole experience didn’t feel right. I went with it anyway, ignoring that nagging feeling in my stomach. But then every time he messaged about a follow-up appointment, I felt trapped. I couldn’t bear to spend even an hour being tattooed by him. Knowing what he had said about other girls’ bodies while in my presence, talking about their “saggy tits” while he tattooed my bum. I felt vulnerable and exposed. It made me wonder what he might be saying to other people about my body…

It got to the point where we were no longer speaking, due to a couple of antagonistic emails that made me no longer feel comfortable with the situation. I’d had a total of three sessions with him, and although the linework was mostly done and the shading started, it was nowhere near complete. That huge unfinished tattoo haunted me for years. At times I could forget it was there. But then I’d catch a glimpse while at the gym or naked as I stepped out of the shower. The tattoo I was supposed to love the most was mocking me.

At times I could forget it was there. But then I’d catch a glimpse while at the gym or naked as I stepped out of the shower. The tattoo I was supposed to love the most was mocking me.

So I called on my friend Google. I wanted to know the politics, is it okay to get a tattoo finished by someone else? I typed in: “getting a tattoo finished by another artist” and immediately fell down a Reddit hole, then stumbled across a film, with different tattooists talking about the “tattooist’s moral code”. “For me, it’s disrespectful to the artist,” said tattooist Jess Yen. “Out of respect, I don’t like to finish someone’s work.” And Phil Garcia agrees that you must get permission from the tattoo artist who started it. “A tattoo artist puts their heart and soul into it, and if someone else finishes it, it’s just fucked up.”

So at first, I considered someone else finishing my back with trepidation. I know that tattoo artists have a code, one that can be extremely intimidating for the customer. But a year or so after I first started the journey, a tattoo artist offered to finish it for me and we did a couple of sessions. They fixed her flyaway hair and added some colour to the monarch butterflies, but my heart or my head weren’t in it anymore. But since they did that session, I have been mulling over the issue: who owns the tattoo? And is it really okay for someone else to finish a piece started by the hand of another?

“If you feel uncomfortable with your artist, don’t feel like you need to carry on getting tattooed by them. It’s your tattoo and your body,” my tattoo artist told me reassuringly. “I’ve been there too with my backpiece. Unfortunately, I ended up feeling incredibly uncomfortable getting tattooed by the artist. A few different things happened and I didn’t really want to get it finished by them. It’s a real shame as the tattoo is beautiful – and it’s something I was so excited about at the start – but now I really don’t like talking about it. To the point where I’ve been recently thinking about getting it blasted over. It goes to show that actually your artist plays a huge role in the tattoo, even after it’s finished. It’s made me take extra care in how I treat my customers and also how I can make the experience the best it can be.”

I have sought comfort that others have been there too – started huge tattoos by someone they perhaps wish they hadn’t. Tattoo artist Myra Brodksy started getting tattooed by the same artist that I did, in Berlin in 2015. She had ten sessions with him but stopped getting tattooed for various reasons. “He moved to Birmingham after my tenth session. My back piece was halfway done then. I did not know he was planning on moving and he never told me when we started. Of course, I was not ready to travel to Birmingham to get tattooed. He didn’t even stay there for long. A few months later he moved to California, then to France. It was literally impossible to get the tattoo finished by him. In the beginning, he was very nice to me. But after a couple of sessions he turned into a miserable nervous wreck. While I was getting tattooed I listened to his problems and soon he would take things out on me.” Myra still likes the design and placement of the piece, but is now looking for someone else to finish it for her.

While I was getting tattooed by Dolly at No Friends Tattoo Club in Brighton the other week, she told me she too had to stop a huge back piece after just two sessions. “[The tattooist] started it four years ago,” she told me. “Everything was okay during the first session, but during the second, he climbed on top of me and tried to finger me while he was tattooing me. I yelled at him, gave him no money, left and cried. Now every time I look at it, it makes me angry. I went to him to get his best work, I didn’t get that as he was clearly distracted. I work in the industry, so I am lucky I have tattooer friends who will finish it for me.” She advises anyone in this position to seek out someone else to finish the piece – even if there is only one more session to go. “If I am taking on someone’s work, I always ask why,” continues Dolly. “You can change your perspective on a tattoo if you work with a new tattooist to help you reclaim it. It’s like going back to a city that holds bad memories. If someone came to me with an unfinished tattoo that holds bad feelings, I’d go the extra mile to try to change that for them. It should never feel like it’s your privilege to get tattooed by someone.”

What Dolly said really got me thinking. As customers, we’re often made to feel that the tattoo artist’s vision is sacred, that it would be sacrilege to get someone else to take over. But where does our own bodily autonomy count in that? After all, it is a tattoo on a body – your body. A tattoo that is paid for by you. “At first, I was apprehensive [about working on tattoos by other people] because I had a really traditional apprenticeship and was taught that you should never touch someone else’s work,” Guen Douglas, of Taiko Gallery in Berlin, told me when I asked her about this dilemma. “But the more I thought about body autonomy, I realised that no one owns the tattoo on the body of the client but the client. If you buy a beautiful expensive handmade vase and decide to doodle all over it, take chips out of it or just smash it, the ceramicist is allowed to be sad that you ruined his or her artwork. But ultimately it has been paid for and the object belongs to you. Do what you will with it – but that doesn’t mean that you can replicate it and sell it again.”

“With the rise of the black out bodysuit, I remember the first time I saw a client had blacked out a small piece of mine,” Guen continues. “I was really hurt at first, then I realised I have my photo, I was paid for my work. Surely I wouldn’t prevent a client from evolving and transforming in a way that makes them happy.”

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And now, I finally feel ready to embark on my journey again – galvanised by words of tattoo artists I admire and respect. I want to turn my backpiece around. I want to own it all over again. Fall back in love with it. Believe it when people tell me how beautiful it is; work with someone I trust implicitly. So I met tattoo artist Tracy D – who works at Modern Classic in west London – to chat about it. She has tattooed me three times already. She’s gentle and understanding and I adore her style.

“I try not to get involved in politics, there are always two sides to a story and at the end of the day, it’s unfortunate that there is an unfinished piece,” Tracy told me when I asked her what she thought about finishing someone else’s work. “I know it’s hard for me to look at an unfinished piece on my own body between sessions, I can’t imagine how it would be to have no finish point in sight.” And so, she agreed to take the reins, bring my butterfly lady back to life. We are one session down, and she has worked magic already. The face has been reworked. And over the coming months, we will add more butterflies and some colour.

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I am now excited again. I am motivated to get it finished, to work with Tracy on our shared vision. Please follow my progress on Instagram @alicecsnape. I was overjoyed to see your comments after my first session, and so many people messaged to say they have been in a similar situation and didn’t know what to do. If that’s you, know that you’re not alone. Get the tattoo you want, by the person you want to do it. Reclaim something that has bad memories. Never, ever, feel like you must continue with an artist you’re not happy with. You are the customer, and the customer – as some say – is always right. Especially when it involves YOUR body.

END NOTE: I contacted the artist who started my back and told him I was writing this piece. He has no hard feelings and wishes me the best with my journey.

In response to tattooing’s growing #metoo movement, we have set up a private group on Facebook to share stories and find support, you must request and be approved to facebook.com/groups/tattoometoo

Icebergs by Elvira Garcia

Tattoo artist Elvira Garcia works at Hive Tattoo Art Gallery in Milan creating stunning iceberg inspired tattoos, here she tells us the story behind them…

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I have been tattooing for 4 years. I started when I was 20, now I’m 24. I became a tattooist because I love to draw, I’ve been drawing since I was three years old. It’s my passion and my life, everyday I need to draw something.

I remember when I was seven I would love to paint the skin of my friends at school with coloured markers. that’s where it started later when I was studying fine art in university my friends encouraged me to start tattooing and so I did. 

My style is a mix between blackwork and sometimes black and grey. I normally use black because I like how it lasts in different kinds of skin. 

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When I was a kid my father told me that inside our mind we have two things: conscious and subconscious. What we know about us, the conscious part is very small, and on the surface, instead our subconscious is deep inside us, under water, like a deep sea of things, emotions, forgotten experiences that never disappear completely.

The iceberg represents: our love, our fears, our happiness, our depressions, what we have lived, our influences.

 Elvira Garcia

I’ve always drawn iceberg flash to show some of my ideas. To show how the design can look with the iceberg with a subject inside, but they can be also custom. I love to tattoo icebergs and anything related with nature including; animals, flowers, plants, woman and space.

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I normally like to do guest spots because they are easy to organise, you have everything you need in the studio and I tend to work better My next guest spots will be in Munich, Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Zürich and London in 2020. I’ll be posting details on my Instagram so follow me on there for updates.

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.

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

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.

J Michael Taylor Tattooing

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.