Mark Leaver’s facial tattoo photography project

Mark Leaver is a third year student studying commercial photography at the Arts University Bournemouth. Portraits are his thing. And his photography project has been created to show the beauty of facial tattoos and dispel some of the myths surrounding them.

Jack Denny
Jack Denny

 

“Facial tattoos have a lot of taboos around them, due to their confrontational nature,” says Mark Leaver on why he started this project. “Unfortunately none of these views are positive, facial tattoos are associated with suicide rates, unemployment, depression and anti-social behaviour. And I can happily report that’s all dated buillshit”.

Jay Read
Jay Read

 

“Tattoos have recently become incredibly popular and are more accepted by society than ever before. There are many reasons for this, one being their endorsement through celebrity culture. There are countless people with tattooed sleeves and other bits and pieces but that was too broad and mainstream to base a project around. What makes facial tattoos so distinctive is that they are still confrontational, there’s no hiding them. There are only a select few people who make that kind of commitment and it was those people that I wanted to meet and photograph,” says Mark Leaver, about his project.

 

 

Mark interviewed each of the subjects of this portrait photographs, to find out a little more about them. These interviews have not yet been published.

“I feel that with documentary work it’s an oversight not to talk to the people being photographed, especially if they are posed portraits,” says Mark. “Candid work isn’t my thing. I try to meet people and set up a portrait in a way that naturally and authentically reveals the person’s character. I prefer the shoots where I get to know the subject a bit better because everyone has interesting stories and backgrounds. Obviously, there are some things that are impossible to communicate with an image, so the text adds to the portrait without changing it. During Touka Voodoo’s interview he told me he had a sex change operation to become a man and that the tattooing on his face, which he did in the mirror himself, represented both his masculinity and femininity.”

Touka Voodoo
Touka Voodoo

 

A full interview with Mark, can be viewed at Huck magazine. And his work can viewed on his website, www.mdleaver.com.

Also look out for issue #7 of Things&Ink, which will feature brand new portraits and accompanying interviews from this project.

 

All photographs by Mark Leaver, www.mdleaver.comwww.facebook.com/mdleaverphotography

Are you a collector of ink and things?

Are you a collector of things as well as ink?

Things & Ink photographer Heather Shuker is looking for people with tattoos and collections to photograph for a personal portrait series. Heather would like to hear from any tattooed individuals who have interesting, obscure or even just a large collection of everyday items that they can be photographed with.

 

Cat lady collector
Photograph of Lou LaLa collector of tattoos and cats, by Heather Shuker

 

Contact Heather via www.facebook.com/heathershukerphotography or email heather@thingsandink.com.

The lowdown from Brighton Tattoo Convention 2014

So, we’ve just about recovered from Brighton Tattoo Convention. It was a hectic weekend of meeting people, selling magazines, talking tattoos and, for some of us, getting tattooed – and we loved every minute of it (there may have been a lot of Sailor Jerry cocktails involved too).

We met loads of incredible people, and we want to say a huge thanks to everyone who came to our stand and bought a magazine from us – new readers and old, it’s always a pleasure to meet you face to face and hear what you think about Things&Ink.

Mini convention video – Brighton Tattoo Convention 2014 from Alice Snape on Vimeo.

Here’s some pics from the convention…

Our beautiful stand, with features editor, Nicola Cook, stylist, Olivia Snape, and makeup artist Keely Reichardt…

Nicola, Olivia and keely reppin T&I
The dream team reppin’ T&I

 

Team hearts
Team hearts – music writer Jen, makeup artist Keely and editor Alice

 

Music Writer Jen getting tattooed by Luke Jinks
Music Writer Jen getting tattooed by Luke Jinks

 

Luke Jinks tattooing Music Writer Jen
Luke Jinks tattooing Music Writer Jen

Photos: Hustler Squad.

 

Satan by Luke Jinks
Satan by Luke Jinks

 

Our stylist Olivia also got tattooed by Brad Stevens from New York Adorned.

Sunshine Tattoo
Sunshine Tattoo by Brad Stevens

 

Cover star Grace Neutral and editor Alice Snape enjoying SJ cocktails
Cover star Grace Neutral and editor Alice Snape enjoying SJ cocktails – things got messy

 

If you didn’t get a chance to come and see us, make sure you follow our FB page facebook.com/thingsandink, and also on Instagram and Twitter, for news, photos and updates.

And you can order the latest issue (#6) The Modification Issue, starring Grace Neutral, from our website, thingsandink.com.

Goodbye for another year Brighton, we can't wait for next year already
Goodbye for another year Brighton, we can’t wait for next year already

 

Atomica Gallery and The Circle present: Everyone’s Got One: A Skull Showcase

Atomica Gallery and The Circle present:
Everyone’s Got One: A Skull Showcase

27th February – 29st March 2014
Opening night: Thursday 27th February
The Circle, 21 Noel Street, W1F 8GP

 

Loaded with a myriad of connotations, the skull has always been a source of inspiration for artists. From Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Skull With A Burning Cigarette’ to Damien Hirst’s notorious platinum and diamond-encrusted creation, they can be found in countless masterpieces. For Everyone’s Got One Atomica has curated work by a variety of artists who have also used the timeless icon as their subject…

Artwork from:
Castro Smith / Charlie Immer / Cil Laurens / Dan Holliday / Luke Thomas
Nick Sheehy / Ramon Maiden / Tom Bagshaw
Plus: ceramics and glass skulls from Bespoke Barware

The opening night party for this exhibition also coincides with The Circle’s two year anniversary – so it’s gonna be a big one!

To celebrate the occasion a selection of artists, including  Ricardo Cavolo, Jack Pearce and Mister Paterson, have created exclusive skull tattoo flash designs. Available as tattoos at The Circle for the duration of the showcase, the flash sheet artwork will also be up for grabs as a special limited-edition print.

Tattoo flash designs from:
Cil Laurens / Jack Pearce / Mister Paterson
Nick Sheehy / Rebecca Vincent / Ricardo Cavolo 

Tattooers on the night:
Aaron Goswell / Jethro Wood / Rebecca Vincent
and a guest spot by Mister Paterson

For tattoo enquiries, please contact ashley@thecirclelondon.com

For more information see Atomica’s Facebook event, facebook.com. Or email Orla,  orla@atomicagallery.com.

Behind the scenes film from cover shoot with Grace Neutral

Things and Ink Cover Shoot (Issue Six) from Papercut Pictures on Vimeo.

Behind the scenes video for Things & Ink cover shoot featuring the tattoo artist Grace Neutral. Music by A.Dd+ – “Suitcases”.

See full photo shoot in The Modification Issue, which can be purchased from thingsandink.com.

Film by Papercut Pictures

Photographer: Lydia Rayner
Assisted by Chris Morgan and Rebecca Hall
Hair and make-up: Keely Reichardt
Styling: Olivia Snape
Cape by Holly Lloyd
Headdress by Gypsy East
Front cover design: Hustler Squad