Arirang developed an interest in the arts at a young age and wished to further his studies in them, but his family did not have the financial means to do so. He worked for years at a car wash, restaurants, and bars, and as a tiler on a construction site to save money to become a […]
Category: Color
Q&As with Yeono about Photorealistic Tattoos
When Yeono was 17 years old, her mother decided she wanted a tattoo and sought her assistance in locating an artist. She was awestruck by the precision and artistry of Japanese tattoos (especially the extraordinary backpieces). Yeono quickly connected with tattooing and realized it would be her lifelong passion and profession. She investigated the possibility of following the […]
Taki: One of America’s Finest Japanese Tattoo Artists
Takahiro “Taki” Kitamura was born in Tokyo in 1973 and moved to the United States with his parents when he was two. His father taught for 18 years at the University of California, Davis (UCD), and his mother instilled Japanese culture in her children, from cuisine to folktales, to preserve their history. Kitamura got his […]
Fluffy Talks About Her Floral Animal Tattoos
Fluffy, a member of a new school of South Korean tattooers who likes tiny, intricate tattoos, has learned the skill at Seoul’s Studio by Sol Academy. Cats, snakes, and dolphins embody flowers and vivid hues. The customers seek it to depict their beloved family pets or significant others. And like her colleagues, Fluffy seeks to […]
Interview with Jehoo on Stylized Reinterpretations of the East
Jehoo was born in 1980 in Pohang, South Korea. After studying electricity in high school, he supported his family as a mechanical engineer for the steel industry for a decade. After ten years, he decided to become a tattooer, but due to a lack of apprenticeships in his country, he was forced to learn independently; […]
Kiwa’s Color Mandala Tattoos
Kiwa, a college dropout, abandoned his music degree to pursue a tattooing career because he was more interested in drawing and having his artwork significantly impact human bodies. For the past nine years, he has been tattooing professionally, fusing Hindu and Buddhist mandalas with color spectra seen in traditional Korean culture and architecture. They also […]
EQ: From Art Teacher to Tattooer
EQ was an art teacher before becoming a tattooer in 2019. Friends and others encouraged her to explore tattooing because of her talent and excitement for drawing. Initially self-taught, she eventually attended Sol’s Tattoo Academy in Seoul. EQ plans to challenge age and cultural role expectations by working hard to achieve professional success despite being […]
From Ceramics to Castles: The Work of Ovenlee
Ovenlee was born in 1995 in Chuncheon, the capital city of Gangwon Province in South Korea. She attended university in 2014 and studied ceramics and textiles before opting to pursue a career as a tattooer in 2018. Fascinated by the countryside’s natural beauty, she depicts it in vivid color in her tattoos. She creates fantastical […]
Eastern Asian Cultures Influence Daldam’s Tattoos
Daldam is a 29-year-old tattooer who draws inspiration from Chinese art, Japanese mythology, and Korean culture. She travels back in time to the period of porcelain vases and goblin legends to delicately tattoo these themes on her clients’ bodies. Peonies, massive waves, and tigers all have significant meaning in the East, which she is aware […]
Ink and Lace: An Interview with Songe
Songe was born in 1999 in Seoul, South Korea, and is a young creative looking to expand her portfolio. She is often asked for color tattoos instead of black-and-gray ones, which make up the bulk of her collection. Nonetheless, she is willing to work in monochrome and diverse skin tones. One of the reasons she […]