Blackwork

Interview

February 13, 2020

Nadine Anderson (@Devlin_616)

Nadine Anderson is a tattoo collector, gradually blacking out her body in an organic and natural progression. Ed Crooks spoke to Nadine to find out more about the process.

Bay Area Tattoo Convention

November 11, 2019

Bay Area Tattoo Convention 2019

As a proud sponsor, TTTISM is pleased to present a series of photos from the 2019 Bay Area Tattoo Convention.

Bay Area Tattoo Convention

October 7, 2019

Bay Area Tattoo Convention Retrospective

In anticipation of the 15th annual Bay Area Tattoo Convention, set to take place in late October of 2019, TTTISM highlights some of its articles on the convention to date.

TTT(+)

September 2, 2019

Sizing Grounds by Michele Servadio

We look at London-based tattooist Michele Servadio’s artistic work in this two-part feature. The first post explores his 2015 project, SIZING GROUNDS.

Interview

August 29, 2019

Grace Neutral (@graceneutral)

Grace Neutral owns Femme Fatale studio in east London. Neutral pays gratitude to the inspiring women, femmes, and queer people she continues to be surrounded by. She discusses her book, <i>NEUTRAL</i>, to be published by TTTISM in September 2019.

Archive

July 9, 2019

Archive: Gakkin (@gakkinx) for TTTism Issue 3

This interview with Gakkin is excerpted from TTTism Issue 3.

Archive

June 4, 2019

Archive: Gerhard Wiesbeck (@gerhardwiesbeck) for TTTism Issue 2

This interview with tattooist Gerhard Wiesbeck is excerpted from TTTism Issue 2.

Collector

May 25, 2019

Karl Knight (@k_dylan)

We interview Karl Knight, Buyer at Autograph Menswear in Birmingham, UK. Knight gives us a breakdown of his growing collection of tattoos, which combine multiple visual styles and strategic placement.

Interview

May 16, 2019

James Tran (@visualamor)

James Tran is a San Diego-based tattooist who currently works at Full Circle Tattoo. He specializes in pieces incorporating dotwork and combines multiple illustrative styles.

Collector

February 25, 2019

Luca Cerlini (@lucasecretwood)

We interview Italian documentarist and commercial videographer, Luca Cerlini, about his extensive and symbolically rich collection of tattoos.

Interview

October 18, 2018

Namiko (@namiko_moth22)

We interview Namiko (@namiko_moth22) of Hong Kong’s Alchemink. Namiko’s often monochromatic work challenges the boundaries between painting, illustration, and tattooing, blending styles and techniques to create abstract forms that are nonetheless highly structured.

Interview

October 4, 2018

Andrei Ylita (@ylitenzo)

We interview Ukraine-born Andrei Ylita about his stark, graphical style. While an increasing number of tattooists come to the craft from a background in graphic design, Ylita remains both a practicing tattooist and a working graphic designer–an interesting combination that informs the punctuative quality of his work.

Interview

August 7, 2018

Woojin Choi (@oozy_tattoo)

We interview Woojin Choi (@oozy_tattoo) about his self-made origins as a Korean tattooist. Choi’s unique style is contextualized by his time in university and ongoing passion for drawing.

Interview

August 2, 2018

Kane Navasard (@kanenavasard)

We interview Kane Navasard about his compelling oeuvre of fine line black and gray tattoos. Navasard’s practice appends eccentric motifs to masterfully executed and placed pieces.

Interview

July 27, 2018

Dan Ryan (@________sadboy_________)

We interview tattooist Dan Ryan of Melbourne’s Hidden Moon Tattoo. Ryan’s tattoos are informed by a contemporary visual language, equal parts playful and precise.

Video

July 19, 2018

Clay Gibson at KLASSIK31

A short video of Clay Gibson taken as he tattooed at the studio of LUXIANO31 in Mexico City.

Interview

May 29, 2018

Damien J Thorn (@damien.j.thorn)

French Tattooist Damien J Thorn is interviewed by James Musker about the unique pieces resulting from his current, “Japanese period” in tattooing. The two also discuss Thorn’s development as an artist and the impetus behind Thorn’s recently opened studio in Biarritz, Electric Dragon Tattoo.

Profile

February 1, 2018

Polaren Per (@per_tatuering)

We profile Swedish tattooist Polaren Per, dwelling on his eccentric style and his beginnings as a tattooist. Per expands on the shops in which he has worked and the things that he draws inspiration from.

Collector

January 29, 2018

Hayden Gan De Mari (@haydengan)

We are pleased to present the formidable collection of Hayden Gan De Mari, a tattoo collector and menswear buyer located in Fremantle, Australia. Hayden discloses the ways in which his tattoos serve to both increase his self-esteem and realize the image he has had of himself from a very young age.

Profile

January 26, 2018

H.B. Nielsen (@hbnielsentattoo)

We profile H.B. Nielsen, a Swedish tattooist whose monochromatic imagery and precise use of stippling creates work that’s worth watching out for.

Collector

January 22, 2018

José Prager (@joseprager)

José Prager is a Mexican tattoo collector and business owner who splits his time between Mexico City and Hollywood. Prager details his collection of punctuative, black tattoos and the process of transforming his body.

Interview

January 19, 2018

Tessa El Maleh (@tessatattoo)

In this interview, tattooist Tessa El Maleh tells us about her start as an apprentice in New York City, her abiding interest in art criticism and practice, and her desires for the future of tattooing.

Collector

January 15, 2018

John Ola

John Ola details his motivation behind the raw but no less ornamental tattoo collection he has been acquiring for some time. Formalized by him as an art project, Ola lets his unshaded text and symbolism “speak for itself.”

Video

January 15, 2018

John Ola

A short film documenting the minimal text and symbolism of John Ola's tattoo collection. For a full length feature and interview, find our supplementary post on John below.

Documentary

January 3, 2018

Apro Lee by 60 Second Docs

We are pleased to present a short video profile created by 60 Second Docs on South Korean tattooist, Apro Lee. In this (eponymous) 60-second feature, Apro details the risks of tattooing without a medical license in his country.

Collector

December 21, 2017

Maxime Dalix

Shop manager and tattoo collector, Maxime Dalix, shows us her considerable work–done almost exclusively in black and grey.

Collector

December 17, 2017

Grant McKenzie

London-based tattoo collector Grant McKenzie shares some interesting stories about his eclectic array of work, emphasizing the place of tattooing in travel, community, and the logistical struggles inherent in arriving at the studio in one piece.

Collector

December 12, 2017

Samuel Ross

We interview designer Samuel Ross of the emerging fashion label, A-COLD-WALL*. Ross speaks on the inspiration behind his tattoo collection, its relation to fashion design, and the different forms that his creative impulse takes.

Video

December 11, 2017

never love again

We are pleased to present never love again, a short film by The London Vagabond featuring model Liz Harris.

Interview

November 21, 2017

Cokney

We speak with Paris-based tattooer Cokney about his DIY origins, his art practice, and his brushes with the French legal system.

Interview

October 12, 2017

Luxiano Tattoo

In conversation with Swiss born artist and owner of Mexico based tattoo studio Klassik31, Luciano Calderon – otherwise known as Luxiano.