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.
Images © Okan Uckun