Lines and Dots: The Blackwork of Tattooer Okan Uckun

eye tattoo by okan uckan

Having read various online news reports about “Turkey Ban[ning] Tattoos, Body Piercings and Dyed Hair in Schools,” one has to ask Turkish native and tattooer Okan Uckun if the industry has actually improved? He tells me that in the last three years it has gotten better. With artists completing their college degrees—understanding history and the principles of art and design have been essential to form their own styles and tattoo in a way that isn’t a copy-paste-stamp. “Now you can see some artwork on people. And I believe that we should be able to see more and more talented people coming out of here,” comments Uckun, who is also part of this new school of tattooers who is doing something different, preferably in black ink.

tree, etching style tattoo

black ink, fish tattoo

mountain and moon, tattoo

modern geometric dog tattoo

etching style tattoo, black ink

insect tattoo by okan uckun

modern triangle on hand, tattoo

Images © Okan Uckun