“For me, (knowledge) sharing for good is the ultimate goal of a human being,” comments Sunny Bhanushali, a tattooist and owner of Aliens Tattoo studio in Mumbai; founder of Online Tattoo Learning program and India’s First Tattoo School where he teaches aspiring artists about his trade. “The more I teach, the better I have gotten with my own tattooing skills; the more I serve them, the more they have loved me and so I have earned goodwill in this industry.” As a self-taught tattoo artist he knows how challenging his start was 10 years ago when no one was willing to give him an apprenticeship, and now he is able to educate creatives and make positive change in India.
Bhanushali is known for his detailed black-and-grey shading, from tattoos of Mother Teresa and Muhammad Ali to Lord Shiva and other Indian Mythology gods. The latter a popular request by his clients and also of much interest to him. “I believe in energy and spirituality and that is what is reflected in my [work]. I try to re-create the same old Hindu Mythological concepts in a newer way, using lots of stock photography, commissioned artists work and images from Google and Pinterest, I combine them in a special way, matte paint, and do loads of digital processing before the final design is out. Each of my work on Hindu Mythology has a story behind it.”
