In the world of tattooing, skin conditions including psoriasis, seem to be almost completely left out of the discussion. But what happens when you want to get tattooed and you have a skin condition?
Writer and tattoo collector Lucy Edwards was diagnosed with psoriasis at 16, in this interview she chats to Aimee Grace Godden, a tattooed artist also fighting psoriasis about her psoriasis journey and how it has affected her tattoos.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition characterised by an overgrowth of skin cells causing red lesions that range in severity from person to person. It often flares up during times of stress or when any damage is caused to the skin such as tattoos. The condition affects people so differently that there is no solid tattoo related advice for all individuals battling psoriasis. I have never had a flare due to a tattoo and my tattoos had always healed normally, but this may not be everyone’s experience.
The silence around psoriasis and tattoos unfortunately leaves many people questioning whether or not they can or should get tattoos. I spoke to Aimee to understand her experiences to open up the narrative around skin in the tattoo industry…
Aimee, can you tell us a little bit about your journey with psoriasis so far I was 14 when I first had signs of plaque psoriasis. This mainly affected common areas such as elbows, scalp, knees and my underarms. So although it wasn’t pleasant it was manageable. It wasn’t until two years ago in 2018 when I was 31 that I contracted a virus which triggered guttate psoriasis. A less common but rapidly spreading form of psoriasis. It covered most of my face and body.
This was much harder to deal with not just because of the discomfort, pain and itching. But because my appearance completely changed, I felt ugly at first, like no one would look at me the same. I couldn’t face a mirror or leaving the house except for work. I thought I’d never meet anyone to date and I’d be different forever.
Eventually I accepted and embraced my new look and I actually learned to love myself all over again. I don’t have such high expectations of myself anymore, my vanity has disappeared and I no longer worry what people think about the way I look. I love myself just as I am with or without a flare up.
Talk us through your tattoo collection, do you have a favourite tattoo? I have six tattoos. Including two large pieces, my first was my right thigh which I sometimes regret a little, it doesn’t have a lot of meaning to it, it’s a mixture of random things, a candy skull, roses, a key, a potion bottle. My back piece is made up of symbols I love the meaning behind the Hamsa, Om, Ying and Yang. My smaller pieces are all on my arms. I have of the sun and moon on my right forearm, this is a memorial tattoo for a best friend that passed a few years ago. She is the sunshine.
I have an unalome and lotus flower tattoo on my left forearm meaning wisdom and the path to perfection, and the lotus represents overcoming adversities. I had this tattooed after struggles with my mental health. I also have a quote on my lower left arm saying “The Universe gives its toughest battles to its bravest Warriors” I know this isn’t the traditional quote but I changed it slightly after having my severe psoriasis outbreak in 2018.
People who have psoriasis or another auto immune disease call ourselves warriors and I wanted a tattoo to remind myself and others how brave we are and that we have got this!
Are you actively planning on getting any new tattoos? (post pregnancy of course!) Yes definitely, I’m already planning a tattoo of an image which represents my baby’s name. I can’t give too much away as we haven’t announced the name yet.
Do you have a specific aftercare routine for your tattoos that takes your psoriasis into consideration? I keep it simple. I don’t use any product a tattoo artist recommends not because they don’t work, but because I have to consider the fact my skin can be triggered by anything. So I stick with coconut oil. It helps my tattoo heal fast and I’ve never had any problems.
How does your psoriasis affect your tattoos? There is something called the Koebner Phenomenon, which can happen to many psoriasis warriors. Which is when damaged or broken skin develops new psoriasis around and on that area. For people that suffer with this it’s pretty impossible to have a tattoo done without this happening. So I highly recommend seeking your doctor’s advice. I’m actually one of the lucky ones.
My mum suffers from Koebner phenomenon but I haven’t so far. This means I am able to have tattoos while I’m not in a flare up without any concern it will develop into psoriasis later on. It’s also important to mention my tattooist will not tattoo me during a flare. I’d probably have more tattoos if it wasn’t for flare ups.
When I do have a flare up I worry the psoriasis will damage the tattoos I already have. I have noticed some of the ink fades faster during a flare but fortunately I’ve had no major damage.
Do you have any advice for those with psoriasis who also want a tattoo? Please speak with your doctor first and of course with your tattooist. Your tattooist is right to say no if you have any signs around that area of psoriasis so please listen to them. Not many people have heard of the Koebner phenomenon but it’s worth researching.
I think most psoriasis warriors will know how their skin and psoriasis reacts by now to damaged or broken skin. If you ever cut yourself or even a small graze, ask yourself does it turn into psoriasis? If so I wouldn’t recommend a tattoo. It’s not worth it, and the tattoo will never heal well. If you know you do not suffer from Koebner then I’d say it’s safe to have tattoos on unaffected skin not during a flare.
We love that you are so involved with body positivity, how has your psoriasis affected your confidence? Initially the 2018 flare completely knocked my confidence. I couldn’t leave the house except for work, I hated what I saw in the mirror and I realised I took my looks for granted before. I never thought I was beautiful, but I didn’t appreciate that I looked “normal” as some might say or that I had no noticeable flaws.
But, it didn’t take long for me to find self-acceptance. In fact, it only took a few weeks. It was after posting a photo of myself on my social media to explain to my family what was going on and why I was in hiding. I didn’t expect my photo to get so much attention from strangers and the media.
Although I had to deal with trolls the positivity and kindness towards me totally outweighed the negativity. The more I posted the more people sent me messages of love and support. People started telling me I was an inspiration, I never thought I’d be called that. It soon boosted my confidence. I felt beautiful in my skin for the first time even with a huge flare up.
I’ve learned it’s what’s inside that counts and it’s about self-acceptance and embracing your flaws how you treat yourself and what you put out to the world is what you will receive in return.
Words: Lucy Edwards, a 20-year-old tattooed university student, cat mum and trying-new-things enthusiast. You’ll most likely find Lucy posting about mental health awareness and self-acceptance on her Instagram.
Our contributor Sarah Kay learns about the relationship between mentor and apprentice…
Five years ago, tired of expensive rents and constant noise, delayed trains and endless commutes, I decided to move to a small village in the Upper Normandy region of France where neighbours all know each other and the cheese is definitely better than what I could experience elsewhere. Sure, it was a terrible decision as I travel a lot and was further away from airports, but I had an amazing bakery, a great apartment – then last year, something happened: a tattoo shop opened. Curious, I went in in the first days. Located two doors away from me, I had never seen a tattoo shop that far away from the big cities that had, according to their page, a serious quality to them.
I had just returned from NYC and asked MVDV, whom I barely knew at the time, to tattoo a slice of blueberry pie on me. His enthusiasm and really funny disposition made me immediately at ease, and the result is incredible. Having them as neighbours, I had the opportunity to know them better – and to continue booking appointments even as borders remain closed due to COVID-19. It’s an incredible luxury. I took time out of the apprentice, Trixie Lunie’s busy day to ask her questions about the tattoo world and her decision to enter it, and asked her mentor, MVDV, how he sees it. The keyword? Humility.
How long have you been an apprentice for now? A little over nine months.
How many tattoos have you done on actual people, including yourself? Over thirty I think on people, and five on myself.
How long have you wanted to be a tattoo artist for? For about 10 years. It wasn’t always possible, since a tattoo apprenticeship is unpaid, but now I can do it because I have a partner supporting me and after having worked for many years before I’m entitled to unemployment benefits.
Were you drawing before or were enrolled into any form of art curriculum? No, I’m an autodidact. I’ve been drawing since I was capable of holding a pencil though, I had been watching my dad tattoo – he was a tattooer himself. He was more of a scratcher: he would tattoo from home, mostly his friends, local people, I still got to take a look at how he worked, and we would attend conventions together. As clients, not professionals! (laughs) Let it be clear that I’m not into his style, but he never was told or taught how, never had a strong foundation, and that’s what I wanted and needed. I wanted a reputable studio where I would be shown and told strictly what to do and how to learn to be the best tattooer I can be.
How long did it take for you to find an apprenticeship? A long time! It’s really hard. There are a lot of requests and very few spots. It took me about a year to find this one. I found them through social media, I liked the work being performed, people seemed satisfied; I just didn’t want to go just by reputation. A reputation can take ages to be formed, but it can fall apart so quickly. I wanted something solid. Now I truly believe I have what I wanted, with a great mentor.
So who is your mentor? Is it Casper (the owner) or MVDV (the tattooer)? Casper is my Jedi Master, and I am MVDV’s padawan. We’ve only known each other since February! It’s going very well. I’m learning a lot, because my preference is manga and anime, and he works mostly in realism, so that was definitely a learning curve. He’s making me draw a lot, I’m starting to tattoo on fake skin, and he’s always behind me, telling me what I can improve. He gauges when I’m ready to do something, which may not always be when I feel ready. They’re making me draw some flash sheets right now so I can get used to creating designs.
I saw that you posted on your Instagram about the tattoo me too situation. How do you feel about that and how do you see your place as a young female up and coming artist? I know that in this studio I will never face any form of discrimination whatsoever. I think elsewhere however, womxn can be under-respected because they are still believed to only be there to draw cutesy hearts or butterflies; I follow a lot of female artists that do, and do so in very different styles and who completely own it. And there’s nothing wrong with being girly. Womxn can be good at everything. There’s enough room for everybody now, and now there are conventions for female tattoo artists too, so I’m entering the business at the right time. A few years ago, it may have been different.
Who is inspiring you right now? Charline Puth, who has a private studio in Paris, I’m getting tattooed at Getcha Club by Charlotte E San in Lille. I love all this Japanese inspired art world. At the end of the day though, we’re all here to do the best job possible for the client and their idea of the design, so as Casper told me when I started, we need to be able to do everything. Of course I’d like to specialise in manga-inspired work and work on really colourful designs, and there is an audience for that, but I must be capable of performing in any style as well.
When it comes to the tattooer-client relationship, what are the values that you hope to bring to the table as a solo artist? What matters to me is to have a very clean shop, that is inviting, really abide by strict rules of surgical hygiene with the equipment, and look my best as well, so people can trust me. Then I want to establish a friendly atmosphere, regardless of the mood I’m in, just like in any other workplace, a lot of humour so people can feel comfortable, and be really respectful of their bodies and of their boundaries.
How do you deal with someone who is anxious – because it’s their first tattoo, a sensitive body part, because of the pain, how do you put them at ease? You talk to them a lot, you offer them a cup of coffee, you ask them if they had something to eat, you take your time. You make sure to have a lot of time so the person can take as many breaks as they need to, I know MVDV is really cautious on the first lines to see how the person reacts and how he can talk them through what’s happening.
Do you think it’s a possibility that a womxn would enter the shop and would rather have you tattoo her than MVDV? That’s a total possibility. It depends on the body part. I would do it, if this is a person that would rather have a womxn do it, especially with everything that’s going on. With MVDV though, he’s been working with some sensitive body parts as well and everything went smoothly; that’s his job, he’s used to it, he knows how to work it, and he would never post insensitive photos on Instagram afterwards, you see.
Do you think it’s harder to be a female apprentice with a male mentor? You need to have a strong personality in this business anyway, because there are stupid people everywhere. You need to stand your ground and go for it once you found the place where you’re comfortable.
About competition? Of course there’s a lot of competition, but as I said there is room for everyone and everyone can carve their own space.
How do you see your future in this shop? I’ll be 80 and still tattooing on fake skin. (laughs)
Your biggest fear right now about tattooing someone? I recently tattooed one of my good friends and she was really stressed out and it was contagious, but I managed to keep a steady hand and I had really prepared for it.
This fear that you’re permanently altering someone’s body and you’re afraid to screw up, that never fully goes away, right? No, it doesn’t. With experience, you gain perspective. A tattooer will always have something to learn. If someone goes ahead and tells you they have nothing left to learn and know everything, I don’t think they got the point. They no longer evolve. Techniques change. Methods change. Equipment changes. Designs change.
Now that tattooing has become so prevalent in the last decade, you see “tattoo schools” pop up, and people entering the fold with art degrees. What do you think about it and how it changes the nature of tattooing? I believe in apprenticeships, but it would be helpful if it had a real legal status. We deal with it, and I do, but it would be great if it could be recognised as an apprenticeship just like any other profession. As for art, you may be a brilliant artist, that still won’t make you a good tattoo artist. Those are two different things. Nothing can replace a solid apprenticeship.
How long do you think your apprenticeship will last? My whole life! After a year and a half I think I will have a good foundation. Just the foundation. But I wouldn’t be a good artist then. I am going to start tattooing soon, because it comes with practice. The shop remains small and approachable, even though we’re starting to be booked quite solidly, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. My two masters are extremely good, we have a great working relationship and they tell me if anything is wrong. They explain to me how to place order, how to manipulate equipment, hygiene requirements, but this is not a shop where they will only have me serve coffee and sweep up for a year, you know? They’re making me draw and work on fake skin every day.
A last word on womxn in the industry? That female tattoo artists are just as qualified as a male one, that some can run circles around others, that we’re not here to be a punchline. Things are changing really fast, hopefully for the better. And there also should be no objectification of heavily tattooed womxn either!
How long have you been tattooing for? It’s been nine years. Very happy with my evolution – I’m learning more about the craft every day. I was just doing my thing for five years and now I’m officially set up in a shop for four.
And now that you’re an apprentice’s mentor, how do you feel about it? It feels really strange because I don’t feel like I am in a position to be a mentor. I don’t feel I have what it takes yet to be a mentor. I don’t feel any seniority.
So how does the dynamic work? I can give her tips and pointers based on what I am capable of doing, but I still feel like mentorship has to be earned and being a mentor is something that carries with it a lot of responsibility. No one is really a mentor as we all learn something new every day. To be a mentor, for me, is the end-all-be-all of the work, it’s being in such a strong position of authority in the history of tattooing.
What has been the most challenging piece for you so far? It was a realistic lion that I just did this week! And it has taught me a lot about what I can do and how to best approach it.
How do you see Trixie debuting in this industry once her apprenticeship will be complete? I’m not necessarily apprehensive, but just like I did have, it necessitates a lot of rigor and a lot of perseverance to make it. For those of us who had to learn everything on the go, it’s even harder, so it requires a lot of personal commitment.
What does it mean to you to train a new female artist? There are so many womxn out there who are doing such an amazing job, discrimination makes absolutely no sense. Womxn have their place in this industry the way they do everywhere else.
What do you think of this reckoning right now in the tattoo industry about sexual misconduct? Those are horrible people who would be horrible in any other job as well but abusing their position. We are in a profession where the human body is literally our canvas, our workplace, so men who are unable to behave with respect in this job have absolutely no place here.
Do you feel a specific type of responsibility when you tattoo a sensitive body part? A place that she wouldn’t like, but she wants to look at and see something beautiful instead? It’s the case for everyone, I feel, that they come to tattooing to change the way their body is before, and turn it into art. And it’s entirely my responsibility to do the best possible job I can so they can look at it years onwards and still love it. It’s true that if they’re having a difficult time because of body image, we have the opportunity to work with the client to make something really significant. Any art you work on is for life, and you have a duty as an artist to make it as perfect as possible. There’s no way to half-ass it. Whether it’s your specialty or not, if you accept to do it, the responsibility is there. I think about this all the time: it’s permanent body altering.
And that’s really something you want to transmit to your apprentice. Yes: the love of working with people, the love to create; and to me this is when you know someone is really into tattooing and has the potential to be a really good tattooer, it’s when they take pleasure in the challenge of creating something special. Going to work is not a chore. The tattooer-client relationship is an exceptional one. And being talented is something you have to constantly perfect, constantly improve.
The piece that makes you the most proud? I recently worked on a UFO, and I really loved it. I had added it to a flash sheet and I never thought someone would pick it; it’s something that is really dear to me, UFO and aliens, and that was really just something that came out of my head. This person really crushed on it and loved it, and I was just so happy to be able to do that piece. I thought it would be a little too “out there” for people, and no, it found its client! And that was wonderful for me.
What’s the future like for you? I’m not worried about clients coming in, but I know I have to keep on learning, evolving, meeting new people, working on my craft, because you can become irrelevant real quick, there are new people coming out every day who just blow everything out the water. That’s something I learned immediately, so I’m just really looking forward to being in a job where I have to keep on learning every day. And if I can travel with this, learning other techniques, histories, legacies, that would be ideal. I had no mentor personally – when I arrived at Casper’s, they showed me the technical aspect of this, how to pose a stencil, how to best see a placement, and for that I’ll forever be grateful. But I don’t consider myself “arrived” or anything like that. I have a team that is family for me, and being a little orphan boy, having found them matters so much to me.
Both Trixie and MVDV are working at Casper S.O. Ink, Chaumont en Vexin, France.
Sarah Kay is a very, very tattooed international human rights lawyer living between Paris and New York. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sarah has kept its taste for cold rain and the rewards that come from sitting still under pressure. You’ll probably find her in London drinking wine.
Hayley, the Kiwi in Derby-based Kiwi and the Bear, chatted to us about running a “weird little colourful indie biz” with husband, Aaron (Bear). K&TB started as a hobby back in 2015, they now sell art prints, reusable face pads, scrunchies, pin pennants and more…
I’ve always been a craft lover and loved trying new things until something finally stuck which turned out to be tie-dye. After I spent a couple of months tie-dying everything in sight, I wanted to take it a step further by adding artwork to the dyed fabric, so I taught myself to hand embroider. What followed was a wall full of embroidery hoops containing tie-dye and 2005 emo lyrics with a little bit of Taylor Swift thrown in, somehow that Taylor Swift hoop made its way onto Buzzfeed and shortly after onto her legal team so that hoop was swiftly retired.
Around this time we invested in an iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil, this right here was the game changing moment for me, I just didn’t know it yet. I started to drift over onto a blank canvas and began playing around with little doodles and eventually adding more art to my lettering which, was weird for me as drawing just wasn’t something I ever did – like, at all.
I didn’t study art, I didn’t consider myself artistic – crafty yes but artsy not at all. At this point I had been following tattoo artists and illustrators on IG that I found so much inspiration in and it had never occurred to me that I could add my voice via my own artwork to the community. I was so nervous about putting my illustrations out into the world, I thought people would think it was a joke.
It was discovering the incredible creative community on IG that taught me art was whatever I wanted it to be and it could mean whatever I wanted it to mean to me, and suddenly I was free to just create. I was having the most fun and finally felt that feeling of being somewhere you were supposed to be the whole time.
So in 2018 we decided to take Kiwi and the Bear a little more seriously, we wanted it to feel more like a brand, something that really reflected who we are – a couple of weirdos trying to live life a little more positively while still remaining sarcastic and foul mouthed. We just wanted a space where we could really just be our obnoxious selves!
We made a few of my illustrations available to buy as prints alongside the embroidery hoops and it felt liberating, so new, so scary, but so exciting! We started developing more products using our hand dyed fabric, purely for selfish reasons as we were making things that we wanted in our own home. It’s selfish but it’s also the best way to find ‘your people’, those that love the same things as you, customers and friends and even better sometimes both!
Our new products and new direction came at the perfect time for us as I had to take a step back from hand embroidery due to my chronic illness making it near impossible to carry on. I’ve had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis since I was seven, two hip replacements and two shoulder replacements later, what hasn’t been replaced is painful and awkward and waiting to be replaced!
I dislocated my thumb while drying my hair, that’s all it took, they couldn’t get it back into place in A&E and soon after, I saw a specialist that showed me my x-ray, and explained that I actually had five chronic dislocations. I’d just learned to live with them. When you’ve been disabled since you were a kid you become really adaptable especially when you’re a stubborn Taurus, so when someone tells you that you can’t do something because of your disability you find ways around it. I couldn’t physically carry on with the hand embroidery, I was grateful we’d discovered things like our pennants and illustrations, so removing the hoops didn’t have to be the end for us, if anything it felt like the start of a new chapter and I found a way to keep drawing and making even with the dislocations.
When people realise I make and create what I do with my sad little hands they often don’t believe it, but for me it’s the most natural thing to keep going, stay positive and stay medicated. Plus, having a high pain threshold really helps. It also helps with really long tattoo sessions, I think nearly every tattoo artist I’ve spent time with has said that I sit like a rock, I mean come on I have to look for the positives in this disease right?
Positivity is a huge part of what we’re about as a brand, it’s strange to say as two emo kids in their 30s who almost always opt for black everything, but somewhere around my 30th birthday I wanted to be kinder to myself. Every day is a battle for my body so I really wanted to focus on the positive things, however small. It was around this time that I fell in love with colour which was super out of character for me, as the only place I ever had colour was my pink hair, but suddenly I was wearing bright fun dungarees and I realised I could be a colorful emo. I found my sweet spot and I’ve stayed here ever since.
It was around my 30th birthday that I received one of my favourite tattoos, it was a real life changing moment for me, like real-life movie montage material of me coming out the other side a bad ass b!
For the longest time I had left gaps on my body that I was too afraid to get out in a tattoo studio, something switched in me when I turned 30, I learnt to love my body no matter what size it was, I learnt to separate the disease I hated from the body that housed it.
I made a tattoo appointment with Mike Love to get my first hand poke tattoo on my sternum, I was really, really testing my limits and I loved it. This piece is so important to me, it marks the beginning of a new era for myself, I faced my fears and got ‘1989’ hand poked into a space I never thought I’d be able to get tattooed, yes it’s my year of birth (I’m a proud 80s baby if only just clinging on to the very end of the 80s) but it’s also a nod to my favourite Swift album, and this one her legal team can’t take away.
We have been a couple since I was 16 and Aaron was 17, so the longest stretch of our tattoo journeys do end up intertwining at times. We have a few “couple tattoos”, for instance he has “Player 1’ on his inner wrist and I have “Player 2”. We’re huge nerds and play video games together any chance we get, and after 15 years together it feels pretty safe to include our story on each other’s bodies. We do have plans for a couple of matching pieces that relate to our favourite Walt Disney World adventures together. During our trip last Halloween I got to show Ariel my Ariel piece and Aaron got to show Mary Poppins his bag and umbrella piece by Lady Chappell Tattoos, yeah we’re those kinda nerds too, and it was so freaking magical!
The one thing I’ll always thank younger me for was being obsessed with filling my arms leaving my legs bare for when I was more educated about the industry. So my legs are home to my most favourite pieces that I’ve collected through my 20s, my absolute favourite is my Rachel Baldwin piece.
Tattoos have 100% had an effect on my relationship with my body, I began getting tattooed when I was underage (I know, I know!) I think as a sick kid this was to have some control over my body when I felt I had none.
Eventually getting grew into a way to love my body, my body art plays a huge part in my body confidence and I’m finally at a point of accepting that I’m like a colourful weird little marshmallow and proud.
Occasionally someone will ask why I describe myself as a marshmallow, it’s actually a kind of sneaky way to refer to myself as chubby (also fluffy, plump and pink it’s the actual food version of me). I don’t use it to replace chubby because I’m ashamed, because I’m not, it’s been a really long journey to dig who I am. I use it because when you refer to yourself as chubby or fat in a positive way, you’ll more than likely experience someone with good intentions trying to tell you you’re not fat. Most people have received an “omg you’re not fat babe” once in their chubby and proud lives, some people can’t see it as anything but a negative, so it’s easier for me to refer to myself as a “leel marshmallow” so I just get to live my fat and proud life. Also marshmallows are pretty dang cute and if just makes someone think of something pink and chubby well, duh, hello!
We have a lot of plans for the future of Kiwi and the Bear, firstly nap with the pups, then celebrate our 15 year anniversary that we worked through, AND then we want to keep adding new illustrations to the shop. We will still take commissions (hand lettering, illustration, custom dyed pennants) most things in the shop you can make a custom request on. I hope to be lucky enough to carry on doing freelance illustration for companies with the same values as us.
The biggest plan we have is to make a zine about being chronically ill which we started working on before everything was flipped upside down. There’s also talk about possibly releasing our first ever pin, which makes sense with our ever growing collection. Really we just aim to keep being a part of the community that we love and making the things we love while making new friends.
When we first saw Carlotta Quast’s patternwork when scrolling through Instagram we were blown away by her immense talent! Once we learnt she was an apprenticeship we knew we had to know…
I started my apprenticeship in September 2018 at Sorry Mom Tattoo Studio in Brunswick, Germany. I’d just quit studying architecture and the shop owners, whom I already knew through my partner Nick, who’s also a tattooer at the shop, asked if I could help out around the shop a couple of days a week. Whilst doing that I started to really get into books dealing with ethnic, tribal and ornamental tattooing styles.A few months later they offered me an apprenticeship.
I’ve always been drawn to tattoos, and I wanted to be heavily tattooed since I was about 14 years old. I managed to wait and I got my first tattoo when I was 18. It was a fairly typical first tattoo – I got a word on my ribs.
Luckily the tattooer who did it, who happens to be my partner today, introduced me to American traditional tattooing which is the style most of my tattoos are in today. My favourite tattoo is probably the sacred heart on my shin.
At the moment I pretty much just do ornamental tattoos. It’s definitely the drawing style that I connect with most. My drawings have more of an architectural mathematical approach. My absolute favourite tattoo style today is different types of tribal. I hope that one day I will have done enough research to feel comfortable enough to offer tribal mix tattoos as well.
The best part of my apprenticeship is the progress I see when I look back. I’ve already come a long way dealing with the feeling of not being good enough and impostor syndrome. But I’m glad I’ve stuck with it and always had such supportive people around me.
Earlier this year, tattoo artist Rizza Boo set up Shades Tattoo Initiative – a safe space to build community, educate artists, help build skills and showcase the work of Black and POC tattoo artists working in U.K. We chatted to her to find out more.
Rizza Boo, photograph by Benedict Cross
Tell us about your own experiences of racism in the tattoo world…Why did you set up Shades?
I formed Shades Tattoo Initiative in response to the pain and disconnectedness I was feeling directly after the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
As we were witnessing the widespread distress of so many black people, I looked around myself and felt the need to try to make some sort of small impact where I could. In that moment, I wanted to reach out to offer support and feel supported, I suppose. In a larger sense, overall I see a need to empower black and POC folks and improve their treatment within the tattoo industry.
While we were watching the news unfold and were having to see more cases of extreme racism, police brutality and murder of black people across the pond, we also had to turn our gaze to the prejudice and institutionalised racism that we face here in the UK. I was struck by the fact that so many people, even those I am close to, white friends, didn’t realise how much racism we encounter as black or brown people on a daily basis, and they certainly did not acknowledge it in our industry, or not to the degree which it is apparent.
I was struck by the fact that so many people, even those I am close to, white friends, didn’t realise how much racism we encounter as black or brown people on a daily basis, and they certainly did not acknowledge it in our industry, or not to the degree which it is apparent.
I’ve been a tattooer for around 15 years and have been in the industry longer than that. In that time, I have worked at a number of studios, as a resident tattooer and as a guest artist. I have also worked many tattoo conventions in the UK and further afield. Yes, I have definitely experienced racism within tattooing! Although I will say, that a lot of the micro aggressions that some folks have had to tolerate being in tattoo studios, I have myself, been presented with, but obviously I have the knowledge to kind of block certain misinformation.
For example, there’s been multiple times where I go to get tattooed and the tattooer is telling me something won’t work on my skin, then I have to educate them on this, sometimes only being believed once I then show healed work of the colour. This is me arguing my case as a tattooist. But you know, those instances are fine, it’s a learning curve and those artists learnt more about how to tattoo dark skin tones on that day. There’s a way of having those interactions without making the POC feel like their skin is an issue –and that’s what a lot of those micro aggressions come down to. Ignorance, lack of education and then lack of knowing how to put your ego aside a little and communicate properly with the other individual.
I have numerous customers being turned away because they are told that an artist can’t tattoo black skin, why has this been allowed to happen for so long?
So, over recent weeks, I think it has now become very obvious for most tattooers, that whether they like it or not, black and POC folks have been having some difficult interactions in tattoo studios that have been far from ok, ranging from subtle micro-aggressions to outright racism and prejudice.
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Why has this gone on so long?
It’s difficult for tattooers to talk about not being able to tattoo black folks because it means holding your hands up and saying you don’t know how to do something. The goal of a tattooer when they do any piece should be the closest execution of the best tattoo they can make, right? Based on their skill level, their knowledge, the practice drawing, who they tailor designs to are all factors…if you cannot provide a service properly to a large quantity of people, then it’s showing a lack of skill in your job – and no one wants to admit that.
Even though, we all know that as with any skilled profession, we must continue to challenge our knowledge and technical ability for this craft to grow. I think there is an awkwardness around discussing race and an unwillingness in the moment to admit one’s shortcomings. And so the black or IPOC is turned away, with yet another negative experience in a tattoo studio.
Also acknowledging now, that you realise you have been doing a disservice, means admitting that for a long time you didn’t care to learn about how to look after ALL of your clients, which makes people feel bad. There’s also a layer to this which is, perhaps, they didn’t see these brown people as the target audience for their style of work, therefore, they were dismissed…This is echoed when you see the whitewashing of black and POC skin in photos of tattoos displayed by tattooers on Instagram. This reinforces the idea that their skin was not the desired complexion for your art to grace its surface.
This is echoed when you see the whitewashing of black and POC skin in photos of tattoos displayed by tattooers on Instagram. This reinforces the idea that their skin was not the desired complexion for your art to grace its surface.
This has continued for so long because tattooing is a trade that’s passed down. If one tattooer takes on an apprentice and then doesn’t have the skills to pass down, then that’s a large part of the problem. I started out tattooing in London, so just because of where I was I tattooed a large quantity of all skin tones, I also tattooed the fuck out of my own legs!
If in your apprenticeship, or the way you came into tattooing, you weren’t exposed to tattooing a lot of different skin types, then it is your responsibility to seek out this knowledge. No one expects you to just magically know, but it’s not expecting too much for you to invest time and energy learning.
Do you think some kind of board could help?
I think one of the main issues, when we think about regulations and boards etc is , who exactly would be making up these regulations? We see first hand how, with regards to things like health and safety and licensing, that the people setting the rules often have little to no knowledge of how we actually work and what goes on in tattoo studios. You can see that with how the re-opening of tattooing establishments has been handled during this whole pandemic situation – how dare they take money from tattoo businesses for “special treatments” and then allow folks with zero training in cross-contamination or even apparently the knowledge of how to wear a mask or gloves properly go back to work? You could say I find this frustrating. I understand that we work close-up, but the pubs being opened before us was a farce.
I would also be concerned that it is not only the same people who have been setting the tone for how the industry is shaped right now that set the new guidelines, if there were any put in place.
I know a lot of us enjoy the freedom of working within tattooing and it’s kind of relaxed attitude, but that environment has not been safe for everyone and that’s a problem.
That said, I am for protecting our clients and those who are more vulnerable working in our industry, so if we could put something in place which protected people then it may have to be considered. I know a lot of us enjoy the freedom of working within tattooing and it’s kind of relaxed attitude, but that environment has not been safe for everyone and that’s a problem. That said, obviously it is tattooers ourselves and the behaviour in tattoo studios which we have direct control over, so even if there were a board, self regulation within studios is crucial as it always has been.
Can you tell me about colour tests, do you offer them?
I can understand the want for some dark skin folks to request a colour test and I would happily provide this. However, I don’t think it is necessarily a good thing for black people to get this done and then think they know exactly how a colour tattoo will work for them. What I mean is, there is a large difference between a dot or a line of a colour and a large area of the same colour tattooed or colours blended together etc.
When I speak with dark skinned clients, whether we are speaking about colour tattoos or black and grey, my emphasis is always on contrast, creating enough contrast in a piece so that we can get a tattoo that will stand the test of time. Of course, we also discuss which colours will be most complementary to their skin tone and what will achieve the best results (this works as an example of how to have a positive tone when speaking about skin!).
How do you want Shades to grow?
I want Shade to offer support to black and POC folks in the tattoo community. I think that is significant, I’d like it to feel like more of a community and less of an industry. For those that feel like it already is…it’s a community when everyone feels welcome and invited.
I want Shades to help bridge this gap in knowledge and help educate tattooers. I want it to offer networking opportunities for the artists and offer information for clients on how to get the best tattoo possible.
I want Shades to be able to raise general awareness about racism and offer ways to promote, inclusivity within tattooing. Shades is for the empowerment of black and brown people, to help with education and hopefully to help us all in gaining more understanding by addressing these challenging issues and opening conversation about them.
Shades is for the empowerment of black and brown people, to help with education and hopefully to help us all in gaining more understanding by addressing these challenging issues and opening conversation about them.
Do you think we can make change?
I do think we can make change. I think it is inevitable at this point. People get to choose what their involvement looks like though. I don’t intend to stop talking about these issues any time soon. I hope more people also speak up, but more than that, adapt their behaviour, have the conversations, make changes in their work environments. I hope people stop spending their money with and supporting businesses who do not adapt their behaviour, harbouring abusive tattooers that hurt the rest of us. There are a lot of good tattooers out there who care deeply about their clients and the folks working for them, let’s uplift those businesses.
I think there is such a large push all around. So outside of tattooing and in everyday life, in every industry, every workplace, household, is in some way having to deal with this. I think we have already seen how much people have accomplished in a small space of time, with regard to reform and changes, over in the US and what people are trying to achieve over here. If it was just tattooing then maybe it would just settle again but it’s much bigger than that. But no, we want more, for the younger generations. This is about them, their lives, their education, their history and their quality of life, so yes, we can and we will make a change.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDl1y6RJk_0/
Have conventions and media been part of the problem?
I think conventions and media can be part of the solution! There is definitely a problem with people simply not seeing enough tattoos on dark skin. This is not limited to tattooing. Across the beauty industry, we see the same with their magazines and models. So yes, they do play a part and I would hope that they aim to make sure they are showing a diverse range of skin tones in their pages. This is a lot to do with tattooers not showing photos of tattoos on dark skin. It is sometimes challenging to get good photographs of any freshly done tattoo, but to simply exclude any images of POC or to whitewash the ones you do show is unacceptable. It sends a clear message of being unwanted no matter your intention.
It’s kind of a chain really, studios, media, conventions. I have had good support from some conventions over the years, frequenting them regularly, the lack of black and brown faces has always been noticed. I have to believe that at a certain point they simply aren’t getting the opportunity to take part. I don’t think my experience is necessarily the norm. Let’s be really real…there’s a lot of varying quality of work at certain shows. I now know. A lot of very good black tattooers who have not had much opportunity with conventions. So I feel like shows have the option to make sure they are also being inclusive. It makes sense though, if studios which are the first point of contact are not inviting, then obviously that affects who ends up working in these shops and so on.
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The artists group within Shades is for black and IPOC tattooists working within the UK. You do not have to be POC to collaborate with us though, we welcome conversation and work on projects , please reach out to us.
For anyone wishing to collaborate with Shades or if you wish to offer your skills, please email us and tell us a bit about yourself.
