Yoga on my Skin

Yoga On My Skin is a collective show curated by Rossana Calbi and Giulia Piccioni, in collaboration with Parione9 Gallery, Rome. On Saturday 24th February Yoga On My Skin came to its natural location: The Other Side of the Ink, the Roman convention dedicated to the art of female tattoo artists.

yoga on my skin (2)

Spiritual stability comes from the experience of a calm and clear state.

Yoga On my Skin is a project born from a collaboration between curators Rossana Calbi, Giulia Piccioni and Parione9 Gallery. The project traveled to amanei in Salina and reached Parione9 Gallery in Rome, a gallery that is always very interested in tattoo art.

Yoga is a sacred science. It is a science because it bases its principles on specific affirmations on the human nature and universe, it is sacred because it represents the interior path of the individual to gain awareness of his own divine self.

yoga on my skin (3)

In the middle of this inner path, there are asana, body positions according to the yoga discipline. Asana are postures, and asana is the art of using the entire body with a physical, mental and spiritual attitude. The structure of an asana is not changeable because each asana is a piece of art. In the Yoga Sutra, Maharishi Patanjali stated that when an asana is perfectly done, there is no duality between body and mind, spirit and soul. According to yogi T.K.V. Desikachar through yoga the mind and senses are directly connected to the consciousness and they are not perceived as separated or disorganized.

yoga on my skin (5)

The project consists of two asana for each chakra (from Sanskrit wheel or disc). The asana are selected according to the physical appearance of the posture and the relevance of the specific chakra stimulation. There is no asana for the seventh chakra because no postures directly stimulates it.

Yoga teacher and psychologist Giulia Piccioni embraced Rossana Calbi’s curatorial idea with the technical support of studio d’arte Candeloro to set up an exhibition that is a physical and mental experience.

yoga on my skin (6)

Art work is by Nicoz Balboa, Genziana Cocco, Cecilia De Laurentiis, Cecilia Granata, Marta Ierfone, Marta Messina, Roberta Kinney, Anita Rossi, Maria Grazia Tolino.

The next stop for Yoga on My Skin will take place in an abbey, in Italy. Find out more about the original location and the future projects here.

Interview with Ruslan & Tonya

26-year-old Tonya and 29-year-old Ruslan are tattooers from Russia. The couple work together in their private studio Abusev Tattoo in Moscow. We speak to Tonya about their unique style of tattooing…

_DSC4009

When we’re not tattooing at our studio we travel around Europe, soon we’ll be working in Barcelona, then Istanbul and Berlin.

We started our tattoo collaboration over five years ago in Russia. Since then our tattooing has transformed into what we call BIOGRAFIKA. It is not a style it is more like a way to see form and composition on human body. We both tattoo in black and color ink, although I mostly enjoy playing around with my colours and Ruslan likes to stick to black.

обработано в 2018_7

We both work on the composition of a tattoo, creating its shapes and forms. Although I enjoy using colour  in my work, I do agree with Ruslan that black fits best on skin.

Inspiration is what makes our collaboration so special. We inspire each other to be better people, better artists, better tattooers! Working together is not always easy, it takes a lot of patience, and a great will to create something truly unique! We always try to bring something new into every tattoo project.

Для контакта

It is pretty hard to describe how we met and how we started tattooing together, but each of our lives had wild twists before fate brought us together. Ruslan was working as a professional tattooer when I found him, he did a cover-up for me, and it all went from there – it’s our crazy story!

инстаграмм

One which you would love to see in a movie. I truly love the place we have reached so far, it’s a happy life of two tattooers that never let eachother get bored. Tattoos brought passion into my life. And from what I see, every tattoo we create brings a new life chapter to the person wearing it.

1_11

Interview with Lucy O’Connell

Lucy O’Connell creates stunning tattoos filled with colour and personality at Red Tattoo and Piercing in Leeds, UK. We chat to  Lucy about her evolving style and inspirations…

image10

What made you want to become a tattoo artist? I started drawing tattoo designs for friends who were older than me when I was around 14. And through doing doodles for them, which I now realise is the most irritating thing to receive as a tattooer, because I knew nothing about the fundamentals of tattoo design, I realised I could do this for a living when I started to do more research. Fortunately tattoos were more accessible in terms of media. I would buy all the magazines available from my area and then go and look up the artists.

What do you love most about your job? I love so many aspects of my job. I love developing my practice, the ability to share ideas and discuss with people I admire, working on a moving canvas is forever a challenge. I just feel like I’m learning all the time, but I also like talking to new people about their experiences in life. And currently I’m really trying to give myself a shove to develop myself more, I give myself a hard time a lot.

image4

What inspires your work and drawings? Everything. Recently I’m trying to look more into myths and old stories to inspire me, but I’ll probably sit on them for a while as they’re such epic tales I need a while to ponder it before I know how to combat it. Nature has a lot to play. Whatever I’m watching can have an impact, or just my mood in general. I find if I’m struggling I’ll watch Attenborough or go to a gallery. Just kind of soak something new in.

What would you love to tattoo? Like I said before I’d like to sink my teeth into some myths and legends. Maybe some religious stuff too from all faiths. Norse gods are really interesting. I think subject matter that’s way bigger than me so I can try break out of my comfort zone. And always birds.

image5-1

Do you have any designs that you really want to do? I’ve got loads of designs I wanna tattoo, I keep a majority in a little book and take them everywhere with me, and the big ones don’t often get a home so they end up getting painted. I’m struggling more than ever to get rid of stuff I draw, which I can’t decide if that’s me, social media or brexit. I’ll keep trying.

How would you describe your style? It’s a clash of a lot of things. I can’t quite put a definition on it, I’m usually categorised as neo-traditional but I wouldn’t put myself there. I think neo-traditional lines have been blurred. I kind of think I’m a pop culture, neo-trad, art nouveau clash.

image3

Is it fair to say that it has been evolving lately? I hope so, I’m trying to evolve all the time but I’m very aware of it, currently. Since the first convention of the year I’ve had a fire lit under me that makes me want to push myself somewhere that’s not so comfortable. But I hope everyone likes it or can see I’m trying.

What kind of direction would you like to take your work in? I’d like to go into a more layered version of my work. And making everything more animated. I’m also trying to take in light sources. We’ll see what happens.

image9

Do you have any conventions or guest spots planned? I do! No mor plans other than these:

Newcastle – Big North Tattoo ConventionApril 28th & 29th

Essex – Jayne DoeJune 14thth, 15th & 16th

Leeds Tattoo ExpoJuly 7th & 8th

Berlin – Sticks and StonesAugust 9th, 10th & 11th

Palm Tattoos

In this post our editor, Rosalie shares some of her favourite palm tattoos…

There’s something so beautiful and intriguing about getting the palms of your hands tattooed. We’ve all heard the horror stories about the pain and the ink falling out, but this won’t stop any us getting them inked. So I’m going to share a few of my favourites to honour your bravery!

@littlebabylinda

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.24.26

@matiktattoo

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.08.05

@belmoxoxo

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.17.46

@lukeaashley

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.09.00

@edgarliconatattoo

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.13.36

@yasvotattoo

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.19.29

@inezalmeida_tattoo

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.15.04

@_ciambe_

Screen Shot 2018-01-23 at 19.23.31

Forever More The New Tattoo

Modern-day passion, tangible tradition, and striking creativity: trace how tattooing continues to evolve in the follow up to Forever.  

ForeverMore_WEB_RGB_up

Art on the body is painful to acquire, arduous to own, and intimate to produce, and as such may be the best refection we have of the soul of modern life.

Matt Lodder, Preface

forevermore_press_pp009-010

Forever More covers the best of the ever-changing contemporary tattoo underground. Bold tribal motifs and gritty stick and pokes bask in a resurgence alongside the fluidity of watercolours and the deviance of Art Brut. From traditional sessions in parlors to traveling artists, Forever More celebrates tattooing’s unsung heroes and contemporary celebrities.

Forever More tracks the scene’s inventiveness and originality as tattoos continue to emerge from subculture obscurity. Just as the needle infuses the skin with ink, the artists profiled infuse life into current tattoo culture. In a scene where artists travel the world, often organizing appointments exclusively via social media, tattooing can be a lifestyle and a way of life. Featuring Miriam Frank, Duncan X, David Schiesser, Grace Neutral, Fidjit, Isaiah Toothtaker, and many others, Forever More explores their unique stories and iconic work whilst creating a comprehensive narrative of this dynamic and enduring scene.

forevermore_press_pp284-285

forevermore_press_pp060-061