Margot Mifflin, author of powerHouse Books‘ Bodies of Subversion, and needlesandsins editor Marisa Kakoulas will host a panel discussion with some of the top women in the tattoo industry including Roxx, Virginia Elwood, Stephanie Tamez, and Amanda Wachob. The event is in New York tonight, and we wish we could be there.
Read Marisa’s blog post about why she was spurred on to put on an event like this here. There will be discussions about our bodies as a public space, as well as other issues being a tattooed woman – or man – raises.
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
“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
“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
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.
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.
Photograph of Lou LaLa collector of tattoos and cats, by Heather Shuker
Read the story behind therapist and model Laurence Moniasse Sessou’s tattoos and scarification in ‘The Modification Issue’ #6, thingsandink.com. The feature includes Laurence’s story in her own words, a stunning eight-page emotionally-charged photo shoot and also comments from her body modification artist Iestyn Flye and her tattoo artist Touka Voodoo, both work at Divine Canvas.
Here’s some unpublished images from the shoot, and the illustrations by Katerina Samoilis that were based around Laurence’s story and used as projections in the background of the photo shoot.
The beautiful Laurence Moniasse
Illustrations based around the story of Laurence’s scarification and tattoos
Photography and Art Direction – Josh Brandao Model – Laurence Moniasse Sessou Words/Story – Laurence Moniasse Sessou and Alice Snape. Thanks to India Ame ‘Ye’ for the title 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
