I'm like a Japanese man.
Anyone who gets a Japanese style tattoo...
80% are religious subjects.
Maybe they don't realize it.
I'm making religious subjects as well
A Japanese artist who does only Japanese style,
Which is the case for 80% of the Japanese tattooers.
And 100% of the Polynesian artists do Polynesian style.
I've never met a Polynesian tattooer who does old school style.
Well, I do the same thing...
A French man, tattooing stained glass style.
It comes from my country's culture.
It's a legacy.
It matches me perfectly.
Because I grew up with it.
I mean, I wasn't raised religiously.
My parents were atheists.
I never set a foot in a church when I was a kid.
But I feel concerned.
To me, every small French village,
Has its own church.
Imagine, if I travel to Japan,
And they only feed me Sauerkraut...
And get rid of the temples...
That would annoy me.
I travel to Japan because I want to meet Japanese people.
And see how they live.
But I'm not...
I mean, it's not an obsession.
There are many things about religion,
That I strongly disagree with.
But that's not me, Im not a bigot.
If you look at my life; I'm not a role model.
But it's compatible.
You can like something without acting like it tells you to.
I mean...
There are some art forms that move me.
But culturally I might disagree with.
The fact that I do stained glass and religious art,
It's because...
I have a lot of respect for it.
But people nowadays...
Will easily insult you.
As soon as you talk about religion,
They'll say: "Religion is crap."
When I started the stained glass back tattoos,
Or at least when they were finished.
A lot of people insulted me.
"Ok, whatever..."
That proves how stupid they are.
On the contrary,
I left every bad online comment on purpose.
On some websites,
There was up to 1000 comments about only one photo.
And there's always in that,
5% of morons.
But they'll like,
And find marvelous an Asian style back tattoo.
With an Asian godly figure.
"Well, sorry to tell you that buddy, but I'm doing the exact same thing..."
There has to be movement in this you see...
If your goal is only to use something that already exists,
And copy it, then I shall do realism...
You'll bring me a photo.
You'll tell me; "I want the portrait of this actor."
Of course, I'm not saying that,
...It's easy.It's actually very technical, but,
But except the fact that it has to be the most realistic,
There are already many talented artists.
Who can make do amazing work.
Super realistic tattoos.
That are sometimes more beautiful than the original.
If I had to do it,
I'd suffer...
I'd have to start all over again.
When you look at a realist style portrait,
Except four or five tattooers in the world...
I think that even if you know all of them,
I guarantee you'd have trouble finding who did what.
Some of them have a precise style.
They always use the same colors,
Or the same lighting.
A specific technic.
You can recognize some. But there are many copycats.
In the end...
You can't really tell who's who.
In eastern Europe,
It is quite...
Amazing what they can do.
Here in France,
In realistic style,
There is Théo.
Who's from eastern Europe but settled in France.
Also Julien Thibers.
Who's really talented.
And of course...
There's Tin-Tin who led the way, 20 years ago.
Some people forgot it...
Or don't even know it.
Which is even worse. Many people don't even know that.
Tin-Tin was the first to do this style in France.
Of realistic portraits.
And finally,
Manu from Châlons.
Who's...
In my opinion, for black & white portraits,
The best artist in the world.
I decided to become a tattoo artist,
The first time I met one.
I was expelled from highschool when I was 15.
And couldn't find another one.
So I started studying photography in a vocational school.
When I turned 16,
I made a report about Marcel from Paris.
A lot of my friends had been tattooed by him.
I don't know...
many people that... I mean I don't know anyone,
Who didn't like this man.
He was a real character.
The first time I stepped in his tattoo parlor,
A tiny parlor in fact.
Legendre street, Paris.
I was studying photography,
Of course he reacted by...
Kicking me out.
I was living with my dad.
He took the news quite well.
He said: "You want to be a tattooer?"
"Are you sure?" I said "Yes."
Becoming a tattooer in France in the 1990's was like:
"I want to buy a bear and street perform with it at markets."
Eventually he accepted.
But he forced me to attend the Abbey painters Academy of Poissy.
The first positive impact it had on me,
Was to keep me off the streets.
It helped me to live a better life.
Find a better artistic approach.
That was more fot for me.
I wasn't an outcast, I had both feet on the ground.
When I was young.
But it's not easy for every youth.
Some youths are tougher than others.
The environment I was living in,
I had to dig my way out.
This is the stand where I worked during the first years.
The I was there.
In this one there was a first floor.
It had a window, so I'd sit there.
Because I was tattooing up there.
I'd watch people walking by.
I spent about 8 or 9 years here.
I'll check if my friend is here.
I worked in a tattoo parlor for about 2 years.
Something like that.
Then I met Pierre-Jean at the Clignancourt flea market.
Who had another parlor before.
So he was there way before me.
I was 21 by then.
I asked myself: "Are you able to work there?"
"At the flea market?"
In the Malik market. In 1995.
When it was filled with gangs and pit-bulls.
Fighting over territories.
I thought about it, and decided it would be an experience.
The kind of experience,
You either come out stronger;
Or don't come out at all.
I weighted 120 lbs...
I had snake's shoulders...
Flamingo's legs...
And a quiff hairstyle.
I wasn't the toughest around...
Once I got there, someone helped me right away.
Someone who became a close friend.
His name is Jean-Claude.
A real friend and a true man.
An old-timer.
He took me under his wing.
Then I made other friends.
Like Joël who was a customer at first,
Then a friend.
We've been friends for 20 years now.
To me it's priceless.
They're people living by a code of conduct.
Everybody's talking about the "Code" in our profession.
People often say "old-timer".
But really...
If you really look at it,
It's mostly acting.
But I can assure you, these guys are real old-timers.
There are not many people like them.
Even in the Clignancourt flea market.
If you wanted to open a store, you had to borrow money.
Or you had to have some.
Without friends you'd have to,
Borrow money from the local mafia.
I was lucky to find people like them.
They became my friends, believed in me and helped me.
So I could get a bigger store, with a top floor.
I managed, step by step, to survive out there.
Because I started from the bottom.
I wouldn't have made progress there.
I'd still be the same tattooer.
A mediocre one.
I was like Bugs.
Who was working at a flea market in London.
Except that he already had a name and was known over there.
Whereas I could never have done that at the Clignancourt flea market.
I don't know how to call this place.
but it's magical to me.
In places like that; the first time I got there,
I was stunned by the atmosphere of the store.
You can ask the owner about any book or any author.
Even if the author is from the 1860's and only wrote one book in his life.
You can ask the owner,
He'll go find it in the middle of all the books.
It's not even kept in alphabetical order. And he has millions of books.
He knows them all.
I love this kind of shops. Run by people with passion.
Like people from the flea market, collecting old postcards or other things.
They know what they're talking about.
I like going to the archives section.
Where I can look at,
Illuminated manuscripts from the 14th century.
Or even older things. I've seen ancient rolls.
Illuminated rolls with the king's seal.
it's amazing.
That's why I love this bookstore.
Because...
There's everything there. For all tastes.
I like to come here and read some books.
Memoirs of Rome's court plots.
1877.
This is about,
...Gossips.
From Rome's royal court.
It's a gossip magazine.
From 1677
With these...
These covers.
There was a french tannery that work on human skin.
Some books were covered with human skin.
But it's extremely rare to find one.
Even bookmarks were made of human skin.
Tattooed skin. Sometimes.
I used to go there every week-end.
Drink a coffee.
Read, search and study everything I'd stumble upon.
Old newspapers, or anything I could find.
Anything.
I think that,
Or at least that's the way I see it;
I don't know if others should do it or not.
There's a moment of standstill in your career.
If you manage to,
Have a nationwide reputation.
But if you want to progress,
And go worldwide.
You must re-think your work habits and inspirations.
Either to be remembered;
Or change your point of view.
And perceive things.
Bigger than you.
Bigger than what you can do.
The tryptic was...
I think that in my career,
It was the right time to do it.
If I had done it earlier,
I would have probably failed.
Because it was a lot of work.
I did it because technically I was ready.
I knew I was able to do it.
Making that tryptic,
It was an opportunity to show what I'm capable of.
On a piece that measures,
I don't know the width of 3 backs.
May be this big, so let's say 4 feet.
So 4 feet by 4 feet.
During one and a half years of work.
About 60 hours for each back.
Started at the same time and finished the same week.
So the photos could be published the same week.
It was a thoughtful work.
I knew exactly why I was doing this.
It had a meaning.
I didn't make 3 random appointments.
I called these people and asked them.
If they wanted to do it.
I proposed the idea.
I took time to come up with this.
I asked myself.
What could I do.
To make a significative change in my life.
I was working on awesome projects,
But...
Eventually I would have got tired of that.
I would have found my limits at some point.
It would have been limited to France.
When the 3 backs were published,
Really,
It took me as long to make them.
So about a year and a half.
Then it took about
One more year.
And all of a sudden,
I don't know why.
It was published everywhere.
It was when I got back from my first trip to Japan.
New clients came from all around the world.
This is a church I feel connected to.
I think there are places like that for everyone.
So why the Collegiate church of Poissy,
Because I was born in this town.
And that's where,
Members of my family were buried.
My grandmother came here to pray.
It feels like home.
But I don't...
Want people to think I spend my days in churches.
Recently when I went to the Collegiate church of Poissy,
There's a St.Louis statue that was damaged.
Well not damaged, it was completely destroyed.
I wanted to pick up some pieces of what was left over.
I went to the sacristy.
Where I met an old lady.
Not a Jesus freak,
She was very nice.
We talked for a bit, I showed them my work.
She and her friends come to the shop sometimes.
Maybe this can set a precedent,
I don't know many people passionate about history.
It's like going back to my childhood neighborhood.
It feels like home again.
Not long ago I drove by my childhood neighborhood.
They were renovating the place.
Where I used to play.
They dug around, making huge piles of dirt.
I was with Vero from TattooMania.
I told her: "Wait a sec, gotta get something!"
So I stopped the car and took a big jar from the trunk.
And picked up some dirt.
Dirt from my childhood. She gave me the crazy eyes...
She asked me: "What are you doing?"
"Nothing... Just picking up some dirt."
"You can't understand."
It's like having a fetish for collecting stuff.
Historically speaking it' an important place.
Like many other monuments in Paris.
That I can relate to.
Because I've heard a lot about it.
Notre Dame is a very special monument.
Compared to other monuments you can find in Paris.
I've visited it several times.
I've had the opportunity to visit the attic...
To wander on the roofs.
That's why it's very special for me.
The first time I entered,
The attic of Notre Dame and saw the framework,
My first reaction was: "This looks like a forest!"
The Cathedral's curator said: "We also call it the forest."
"Because 1700 oak trees..."
"Were cut from the Vincennes' forest."
"About 850 years ago, to build this roof."
It remained in the same state.
All these years.
It is now endangered,
Because they put so many electric cables in there.
When you're at the center, you can see all the domes.
I saw long tree paths, with Freemason's symbols engraved.
Also symbols of the Companions.
It's very impressive.
Every time I come to Notre Dame of Paris.
I'm happy to see the priest.
Well he's not a priest, he's a sacristan.
When I see him, I show him my work.
He's always surprised, we can talk about a lot of things.
But they aren't shocked.
"This is a tryptic I've made."
"It took about 300 hours of work."
"Yes."
"It's wonderful; the colors; everything is superb."
"So much detail..."
"So you must have an appointment every saturday?"
"You'll need at least 2 days a month during 1or 2 years."
"It's a long-term project."
"Some people come from countries where there isn't stained glass."
"People from Japan, or Asia. They're not used to it."
"So I brief them before."
This is new in tattooing, I've been doing this job for 20 years.
Stained glass didn't exist in tattoo, no one has done it before.
I had the idea 2 years ago.
And there are already copycats.
Graphically speaking, it was made for that.
"So your customers... Art they?..."
"Faithful?"
"Yes."
"Not necessarily."
But I'm always respectful.
For example, I won't make a cartoony face of the Christ.
I warn my clients, but they don't ask for it.
I've been asked once for a tattoo that wasn't disrespectful but...
But wasn't playing by the rules. So I simply declined.
Some people, for example
Have a grandmother named Bernadette, so they'll ask me to tattoo St.Bernadette.
So yeah...
So I'll make a stained glass tattoo with the attributes,
St Bernadette for example;
She's the Patron Saint of something,
I'll draw it in her hands.
Some of my clients want a tattoo just for that.
To honor or remember a loved one.
I also have a lot of faithful clients.
More and more young people, strangely.
That's it.
Now all my customers come for stained glass tattoos.
I started collecting when I was 5 years old.
I collected rocks.
Started when I was 5, stopped at 7.
And I still have it. A bag filled with my rocks.
I've always been a collector. I think it's in you from childhood.
You live with your belongings.
When I come home at night, my objects are here.
You live surrounded by your things.
That's why it's important, they'll be there my entire life.
I'll see them until my last day.
Unless everything burns...
It's all there.
Which reminds me...
I think Jean Cocteau;
He was asked:
"If your house burned, what would you save?"
The fire, he answered.
Not bad right?
Something that terrifies me about some people;
Who want purified design for their home.
Zero object...
Only a table here, and a chair there.
Whereas I need all my stuff around me;
Because every object will remind me a moment of my life.
Or a friend.
Because he gave it to me.
Or painted it for me.
So I can live around my friends.
Some of them bring me luck, because they're from good moments of my life.
The only downside...
When you're like me; is that you'll need a lot of space.
But I can guarantee that every single object I own.
I remember where I got it, or who gave it to me.
I remember everything.
When I'm gone my collections won't have a purpose.
Because they're my collections.
I mean all of my collections.
In this place and time, they have a meaning.
Because they're mine, it's my life.
But my collections...
Maybe I'll give them away before I die.
To whom; I don't know. Maybe if they create a Tattoo museum...
Unless i'm the one opening it... Just kidding.
Since everyone in my family knows I'm a collector;
Every time someone passes away, they bring me their photos albums.
And I keep everything.
I'm the Guardian of the Temple.
In this chest are...
My collections.
This chest has a story, it belonged to my grandfather.
From when he was a war prisoner.
That's why there's a pin drawn on it.
This was his suitcase.
I have a passion for the past.
I've been stacking for a while now.
I've been collecting everything linked to tattooing.
Here's an example,
"The air travels of a young Parisian around the world."
It's an old magazine.
The hero's name is Tintin.
He's getting a tattoo.
it says: "Tintin in the enemy's hands."
And he's getting tattooed by some African tribe.
It says here: "Tintin thought he'd faint from the pain".
He looks scared.
Mr Zoummeroff is a famous french collector.
He collected a lot about executioners and tattooing.
He has this book...
And the cover of this book is made with human skin.
The tattoo is quite famous.
It says: "Victim of the blue collars."
With a dragon fighting a snake.
before he was guillotined he left his body as a legacy...
To Dr. Lacassagne
And Dr. Lacassagne cut his skin.
And he made a book cover with it.
He was the murderer of Ecully; executed in 1932.
Lacassagne put everything in this book. He probably took this photo himself.
So this guy gave his body to Lacassagne who could do whatever he wanted with.
Because he made a book with it.
On this cover you can see his nipples and some chest hair.
It's quite something.
And when you open this book,
There's a whole page about tattooing techniques.
Written by the convict.
And a few others tattoo on cut skin.
That Dr. Lacassagne used to illustrate his work.
This book was for sale a year ago.
But withdrawn because of the law.
You can't sell something that belonged to a human; bones, skin or anything.
This business is now illegal
So about Dr. Lacassagne;
He also made this; "The crocodile album".
"Tattoo from the Inside".
It's from 1934.
And in there you can find...
A lot of pictures, portraits.
Convicts photographed by Dr. Lacassagne.
With all their tattoos.
He made this book because of his researches;
He was one of the inventors of criminology.
He wanted to prevent those who might turn into delinquents.
Based on the size of the head,
The size of the jaw, or the number of tattoos.
It was the early stages of criminology.
"Let's discourage this evil and idiotic amusement."
Not a good start...
"Since antiquity it had its supporters and artists."
"Let's remember,"
"For many nations it was a sign of punishment for the prisoners."
"American and English neurotics tried to start a trend..."
"This barbaric paint on the skin."
"Some of them engraved with madness their bodies;"
"Fantastical tattoos."
It was a different manner of speaking right?
"Criminals get tattooed by pride and to defy order."
"An illustrated autobiography considered to be quite foolish."
"Because it is the unfailing stigma to mark indentity and acknowledgement."
It was considered as a primitive act.
People didn't understand.
This book here, called "Tattoos from the Inside"
I also have multiples copies of it.
It was made by Jacques Delarue and Robert Giraud.
With photos by Doisneau; so it was a good team.
And some photos from the older book.
Because this is "tattoos from the Inside".
Published in 1950 or 1951 by La Roulotte editions.
And this is "tattoo from Inside" by Dr. Lacassagne.
So they used photos from this book and of course took new ones.
I met the author once, because he lived close from here.
And I told him his book was in the Yokohama Tattoo museum.
But to him, tattooing was a project that lasted a year.
he's mostly famous because he made a book about executioners.
And another one about General De Gaulle and the O.A.S.
What you can find in this kind of books;
in Dr. Lacassagne's "Crocodile album"
Photos like this make sense to me.
That's why...
For my tattoos I include the face in the photo.
The person's face is as important as the tattoo itself.
If you take off the face, what's the point?
it would be meaningless...
Because ou can see the pain on some faces.
"Shall an avenger be born when I die"
What if you couldn't see his face?
There's a famous one...
"Bad face but good heart"
Can you imagine the impact of this photo without his head?
It wouldn't be the same.
He really has the face of a pimp.
It was all part of the same decorum.
If you were in there.
There were codes, with recurring themes.
But it wasn't as much codified as the Russian tattoos.
Or some other cultures... It wasn't that much.
Let's not exaggerate.
But most of them were in the disciplinary battalions,
Many tattoos were about North Africa.
Or people like:
"Unlucky One" or "Child of Misfortune"
So there were some codes.
But it had a meaning.It made more sens than...
Than a salamander on the shoulder...
Now inmates have regular tattooing machines.
They go on the internet and order it on ebay.
They manage to get it in, and tattoo themselves.
My friend Bear built his own tattoo machine un prison.
He was covered with tattoos.
He brought all his former inmates friends along;
From the prison of St. Quentin or Chino.
All these people who had pathologies...
Acting very weirdly when they talk to you.
They couldn't keep their eyes straight; constantly looking over their shoulder.
In prison, danger always came from behind I guess.
I was very impressed with these guys.
They were shaking like leaves.
But they didn't realize they were like that.
Unfortunately their life was like that.
This little box...
It was a gift from a friend named "Bear".
Who was...
From Los Angeles and was an inmate in Chino.
When we met I tattooed in a shop in Whittier.
It's a town close to Los Angeles.
He was a big guy, covered with tattoos.
Which were made with this machine.
He just got out of jail and wanted a new tattoo.
He told me about his machine, wanting to give it to me.
So I told him I'd tattoo him for free in exchange.
He tattooed half of his body;
His friends did the other half.
With a small machine.
It's made with a walkman's rotor.
With a jack cable plug,
To make it spin.
Then a needle through the pen.
it was probably filled with diseases.
Unless he was the only one using it.
I was really happy when he gave it to me.
It's the kind of gift that has a lot of value.
Bear passed away...
Not long after we first met.
A few months maybe a year later.
I was very sad.
If I wanted to tattoo with this machine;
He put 2 dots here for the needle bar.
With only one needle; like they did in the 1970's.
Like what Jack Rudy did in Los Angeles.
Very detailed tattoos; he had faces of...
Women faces made with very thin lines.
With thin hair all in grey shadings.
It's a recognizable style that belongs to them.
So the fact that it's handmade, and that he tattooed himself;
With their graphical culture, these tattoos were authentic.
I think they were more authentic than what I do.
His tattoos made sense. They had a meaning.
Between these 4 walls, the tattoos completely make sense.
At least more than in a parlor, with an appointment made months before.
Some people make you believe you're wrong.
Or make you understand they are right.
And they don't bother as much as you.
And they'r right.
And they're drowning in tattoo.
And they swim in it.
The interesting fact is:
You can talk with anyone, doing any job;
If the person in passionate, he becomes interesting.
Because he will tell you about his job with passion.
Well, Cliff White is like that. Horiyoshi is like that...
Shige as well.
I've spent a day with him, his wife, his daughter...
He showed me a box with his grandfather's bone in it.
Then this, then that; and his bookshelf is filled with...
I said...
Well I couldn't say anything actually.
OK...
So i didn't ask them if they had existential questions.
I wouldn't bother them with that.
You can ask yourself questions; but are they the good ones?
Even them, have question to themselves.
Even at their age.
All your life you'll question yourself. That's what I think.
Then I also realized that;
If I talk with an old tattooer or a traditional tattoo artist.
We speak the same language.
I totally understand the approach of a traditional tattoo artist.
it doesn't matter where he's from.
When I go to Thailand and see traditional tattoos;
Which has become a rare thing in Thailand.
If I show them my work, they will understand it.
They'll be less shocked;
Than an occidental tattoo artist who's not used to work like that.
They will understand. They'll say:
"If he does that, it's because he's from that country."
I think that... At least my style;
Since it's traditional;
But also historical and classical.
I'm sure that anyone; anywhere in the world;
Who's into traditional style.
From his own country, his own culture.
He understands me.
And we speak the same language.
That's what's beautiful.
That what makes the world. It's the differences.
I've been tattooing for 5 years; and the last 2 with Mikaël.
In his tattoo parlor.
I like it a lot; it's all about work and passion.
It's what defines Mikaël and his shop.
The biggest change for me when I started working here;
Is that he has his own personal vision of tattooing.
He has an overflowing passion for this job.
He has an honourable vision.
And in his attitude.
When he looks at other people's tattoos he'll analyze their work axis.
I've improved myself by working with him.
He's always willing to share and give advices.
It's decomplexing.
That's for the technical aspect.
He also has an interesting way of looking at things.
And his work perspectives, on a month, 6 months or a year.
Or even further in time.
It helps me to think about;
How to consider my work on short and long term.
Compared to when I first got here;
I've learned how to direct my work.
About all the projects I'm longing to work on.
Like Japanese style.
I'll pay attention;
To choose the right theme and properly deal with it.
I find a lot of common points between Mikaël and me.
Even though our styles are totally different.
His work has not only details, but also a strong cultural knowledge.
He puts a lot of sens in his work, you can tell just by looking at it.
That's why we're alike, despite our differences.
Because I'm doing stained glass, and was the first one to do so;
Other tattoo artists started doing it too.
More or less successfully.
Some had the politeness to write me a letter first.
"One of my clients wants to do it, but he lives too far away from you..."
"Then sure, go ahead."
Many friends of mine; not all of them...
I don't have that many friends...
But I've been tattooing since I was 18 years old.
You can easily guess that most of my friends;
If they aren't tattoo artists, they're into tattooing.
I don't invite a lot of people in my home.
Because I like being alone.
My closest friends...
Well Tin-Tin lives close from here...
I don't remember how we met... Do you?
No, but I've seen you a lot.
Bruno Kea told me:
"Mikaël de Poissy is a moron, you should meet him."
And maybe some other friend...
He told you I was a moron?
Yep. And he was right.
He told me you were a moron too.
All our friends think we're morons so...
That's why we got along.
So we met through common friends.
I've worked in his parlor a few times...
But it's always the same show...
The same old jokes.
It's good to see new things sometimes.
So I go to other friends parlors.
My shop isn't very prestigious in fact...
The tattooers aren't very talented.
All the guests are good though.
Except for him...
Always a cheapskate...
The less he comes, the better we feel.
It took time before we became close friends.
It's a friendship that...
That was built with time. That's why it's lasting.
It's lasting...
For now...
To him, I'm a friend. But to me, he's a pal.
It has nothing to do with tattooing. It's the opposite.
Same here.
Of course most tattooers are friends with each other.
There's a high probability;
That you'll hang out only with tattoo artists.
Spend all your time in conventions and tattoo parlors.
So obviously, most of your friends are tattoo artists.
But most of the people I don't like are also tattooers.
Really?
There are people you don't like in the business?
That's how it is, when you live in a microcosm.
There are people you like or not.
Usually that's how you meet your wife and friends.
But it's not about work.
Since both of us do that for a living;
I'm sure he doesn't do much else besides taking care of his kids.
Even when he's on a trip.
He has tattoo plans.
He'll visit...
If he goes to Japan, in Yokohama he'll probably go see Horiyoshi.
Or else...
See someone that has something to do with tattooing.
Even if we don't do only that in our life.
Yet we can't help it.
If I go somewhere I'll try to find something about tattoo.
Once a tattooer, always a tattooer...
It's always an occasion to meet foreign artists.
But when we see each other; beside telling bad jokes...
If we can avoid talking tattoo for a week, we'll do it.
It's more of a mood community.
A passion; rather than work.
There's no rivalry between us.
Not at all.
About tattoo artists;
In general...
Amongst all the tattooers I've met;
Some were working in street shops opened 24/7.
Maybe it's something that will need to be preserved.
In 50 years from now.
Because it might disappear.
All these overexploited tattooers;
Tattooers in Las Vegas;
Working day and night;
Like me when I was working in the USA.
Maybe, 50 years from now, people will say:
"This kind of tattooers are disappearing; it's a shame..."
"We should reopen street shops; there are none left."
Yet, after a certain time, it becomes part of the culture.
It's been there long enough. It's part of the picture.
My objective is to work on things;
That have disappeared.
That are forgotten.
And I think it would be a good thing;
To study it.
Go to old libraries, find long forgotten stuff.
Or that have been lost. And study it.
Take them out of the past.
Bring it back to life.
By doing so, you revive the people as well.
The people who lived it, or told the stories.
And you can find amazing stuff.
In every country, every culture, with every tattoo artist;
Have this legacy.
Tattooers recognize each other.
Some of them;
I start writing to because...
We understand each other, talk about the same thing.
We want to preserve things.
So when I'm talking with...
A tattoo artist.
From any country.
Except the new countries like the United States.
They have a great tattoo culture, but not an ancient historical legacy.
But countries that have an ancient history,
Something even older than their religious heritage.
They can find wonderful and amazing subjects.
My personal approach is;
Cultural
And feeding your soul with culturally interesting things.
Digest them.
Then put it in my tattoos.
Create something new with it.
Then show it to people.
To my clients.
Since my clients are following my work;
Most of them are interested and want to know more.
They start reading or studying stuff they wouldn't have.
So it might give them new ideas or desires.
As a consequence;
You inspire your clients, then they inspire you.
Because they are the canvas.
That's why I think that in every country and culture;
There are inspirations.
That are good to use.
You can work on traditional style;
But not copying exactly what has been done before.
That wouldn't make sense.
That's what everybody should do.
At least that's my opinion.
And how I want to work.
And I know there are many other tattoo artists,
Thinking the same way.
And I think that, one day...
We'll talk more with each other.
It'll be good exchanges.
We'll be able to work together.
That's what art is all about...
It's about two people meeting each other.
Handing each other ideas.
"Here, you should try that."
"You'll like this book."
A lot of images.
"Your work is great."
"Yours as well."
That's what it's all about.
Sharing...
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