Tiger Tales

Asia Ink

For generations, tattooing has been a way to express one’s heritage or to record one’s adventures. Lauren Bartlett meets six tattooists to find out what tattooing means to them.
Photography by Mark Teo

Jeremy Lo – Kuching

“Tattooing is an important way to preserve culture. It’s about recording history and passing skills and stories down to the next generation,” says Jeremy Lo, a tattooist from Sarawak where tattooing has been done for generations using traditional methods. “I got my first one when I was 16 – it’s the bungai terong (eggplant flower), which is the first tattoo boys get in Borneo. It represents a coming of age, when you leave the village to travel and learn.”

Traditional tattooing in Borneo is done with two sticks, one with a needle and the other that acts as a “mallet” to tap the needle into the skin. “Most people find this kind of tattooing less painful,” says Jeremy. “You don’t have the sound of the machine either, which I think always adds to peoples’ discomfort.”

While Jeremy uses traditional methods, he doesn’t take traditional risks. “In the past, carbon was scraped from the cooking fire and mixed with sugar. It was inked into the skin using anything sharp you could find,” he says. “Firstly, it’s not hygienic and secondly, you have no way of knowing how people will react to it. Now we keep to international standards – we use disposable needles and inks.”

Jeremy has travelled everywhere from Croatia to the beaches of Thailand mastering his craft. The most remote place he’s worked? Back home. “Tattooing in Borneo can get pretty isolated – long rivers and jungles so deep you couldn’t get there with a plane or a helicopter. To get to some village longhouses you might have to trek for ten hours through the forest.”

Josh Roelink – Sydney

Josh is the current Godfather of the Sydney tattooing scene with a three-year waiting list. “The industry has gone through huge changes. When I started there were only two tattoo magazines and I had to order them from the States. There was no internet!”

He now takes inspiration from Asia, particularly Japan. Australian Aboriginals are among the few indigenous cultures that do not draw heavily on tattooing, instead using body paint (although there are some tribes who have tattooed). Convicts brought tattoos to the new settlement though, explains Josh. “A lot of them had tattooed backs. Most of them had Queen Mary or Jesus – so when they got 40 lashes, the bailiff was likely to go a bit easier on them. It wasn’t cool to lash the face of the Queen.” .

Josh finds people often match theirtattoos to their personalities. “Once I tattooed a guy as if he was stepping into a fish, with the lips coming right up around the knee. “He was a crazy kind of guy and his tattoo definitely reflected that.”

So after almost two decades of tattooing, what’s ahead? Colour portraits, he says - particularly among the younger generation of tattooists. “The problem is that these kids have only been doing this for five or six years and haven’t had the people they’ve tattooed come back to them 10 or 12 years later. You have to think long term,” he muses. “One day, you realise that the old guys, who were doing this generations ago, have already figured out the principles. They knew what they were doing.”

Julia Seizure – Hong Kong

“I was always drawing and loved art,” says Julia Seizure, co-owner of Star Crossed Tattoo & Piercing.” Born and raised in Hong Kong, Julia takes inspiration from neo-traditional design and Chinese water colour paintings to create tattoos that are a delicate mix of oriental class and western pop-culture. “It’s so easy to find inspiration in Hong Kong,” she says. “The architecture, beautiful patterns on plates and silk, lattice-work in old buildings… it’s endless.”

But it isn’t all beauty – for a long time tattooing wasn’t accepted owing to its close association with triads, says Julia. “It’s only recently that people have started to appreciate it as an art form.” There are also numerous health risks associated with getting a tattoo in Hong Kong - there are no hygiene laws relating to tattooing. “Some studios openly reuse needles. It’s awful,” warns Julia. Still, there are good and bad tattooists in any country. “I got my first tattoo when I was 13 on a trip to the UK. I guess I must have looked older and the place wasn’t exactly reputable,” she admits. “I got a skull with butterfly wings, which I managed to hide from my parents for several years. By then I had more, so they weren’t so concerned. Every time I see them, they still tell me not to get any more tattoos!”

So does Julia get bored of hearing requests for dragons and Asian symbols? “All tattooist groan at the thought of Chinese script, but it doesn’t have to be cliché,” she says. “When people want it, we get it designed by a traditional calligrapher down the road, rather than just printing it off on a computer.”

Dwi “ Duff ” Anggono – Jakarta

“Duff” Anggono considers himself an artist – although his work has more in common with photography. When we meet, Duff is etching an extraordinarily life-like rat onto a customer’s back. “I studied design, then came across realistic tattoos and realised I could create art on people, too.”

This type of colourful, photorealistic tattooing is a far cry from the first ink he saw. On the Indonesian island chain of Mentawai, a place synonymous with surfing and tattoos, you’ll find some of the most recognisable tribal inks, including the single armband. Certain research suggests that Mentawai could even be the place where Asian tattooing began. Nowadays though, Duff lives and works in Jakarta where he tattoos a rather unique array of clients.

“My favourite customer, who bears a full-colour jungle scene on his stomach, is the first ‘freak’ I’ve tattooed. I can tattoo him for hours on end and he’ll be laughing and joking the whole time. He just doesn’t seem to be able to feel the pain.” He also did a late-night job for a group of insistent guys on a pub crawl. “Yeah, they went home with matching Bintang (beer) bottle caps. They’ll probably remember that night for a while!” They were an exception to the rule – normally Duff prefers images like flowers, leaves and animals.

Duff still enjoys visiting Mentawai, but will he go tribal next time he’s back? “In the traditional way? Since I’ve been working in the city, I know the dangers. I’m still deciding, but I don’t think so, no. I like my autoclave!”

Kirby Lian – Singapore

Growing up in the study-hard culture of Singapore was tough for art-loving Kirby. The turning point came when he got his first tattoo at age 17. “I wanted an eagle, but it ended up looking more like a chicken,” he laughs. “I bought a tattoo book and realised my own art was better. I thought then that maybe I could make a career of it.”

Determined to save others from hideous tattoos, Kirby started Utopia Studio. He also organises the annual Singapore Tattoo Expo, designed to showcase Asian tattooing to the world and bring the world to Singapore. “I think that’s what makes Singapore special in the tattooing scene. As a young country we may not have a strong, fixed culture, but we do fusion very well. We can mix east and west.”

Singapore government has also set up Creative Community Singapore to encourage creativity and promote creative industries. Whether it was intentional or not, the tattoo industry has become part of the movement. “The calibre of Singapore tattoo artists has really improved,” says Kirby. “In the past, they were likely to be uneducated, but now you have a lot of highly trained artists, graphic designers and photographers becoming tattooists.” But it’s not just about government efforts – you need to have people willing to be tattooed. This too is becoming more acceptable in Singapore.

“One of my most memorable clients was a 70-year-old man. Initially, I was hesitant, because his skin was so soft and delicate, but he’d wanted a tattoo since he was teenager,” explains Kirby. “He never got one because he was worried about disappointing his parents, then his wife. Then his kids didn’t want a tattooed papa. Now he’s got grandkids and he’s finally doing it for himself.”

Thinking of getting inked...

…IN BORNEO? As in any country in Asia, take into account cultural sensitivities when choosing your tattoo’s location. Many artists will not tattoo deities on the lower body. Jeremy Lo will not tattoo palms, or the back of the hand. “In Borneo, that means you have blood on your hands, you’ve taken heads. We don’t do that anymore.”

…IN SYDNEY? When you’re getting a tattoo on holiday ask the locals, says Josh. Find out where acquaintances got their tattoos and what they thought of the studio and artist. “I’d also talk to a tattooist you trust in your home country,” says Josh. “It’s likely they’ll be able to recommend someone. It’s quite a small community; a lot of us know each other.”

…IN HONG KONG? Firstly check the hygiene standard, then only once you are comfortable, discuss your ideas with the artist. Steer away from ‘flash’ (the stencils available at almost all tattoo studios). These aren’t original and thousands of people around the world could have the same tattoo as you, says Julia. “I personally think it’s a real shame when people don’t use their imagination. There is nothing worse than getting a tattoo just for the sake of it.”

…IN JAKARTA? As per the recommendation of all our other tattooists, first and foremost make sure you check and are comfortable with the hygiene and safety of the tattoo studio. Then shadow the artist so you understand their style. “Usually people expect a cheaper price when they come to Indonesia to get a tattoo,” says Duff. “What they don’t expect is how good it will turn out – I think we are often underestimated.”

…IN SINGAPORE? Kirby Lian suggests a discussion appointment first: “Bring along some ideas and influences that represent you and what you want in a tattoo, so the artist has a clear idea of your personality and your idea.”

FIND IT:

Monkey Tattoo & Body Piercing, 2F, Bangunan Si Kui Seng, Jln Sg Maong Hilir, Kuching, tel: +60 198 880 676, www.. myspace.com/monkey_tattoo
Siam Ink, 1416-7 Rat-u-thid 200 Pee Rd, Patong Beach, Phuket, tel: +66 (0)8 9471 0963, www.siaminktattoo.com
Utopia Studio, 02-95 Roxy Square 2 Shopping Centre, 50 East Coast Rd, Singapore, tel: +65 6346 1541, www.. angkongtiam.com
Aurora Tattoo, Menteng Huis, Ground Floor, Suite G10, Cikini St 2-4, Menteng, Jakarta, tel: +62 815 8403 6144, www.auroratattoo.net, www.dufftattoo.com
Star Crossed Tattoo and Piercing, 57 Granville Rd, 2F, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, tel: +852 6256 0217, www.. starcrossedtattoo.com, www.juliaseizure.com
Tatudharma, Chippendale, Sydney (by appointment only), tel: +62 (0)2 9699 9029, www.tatudharma.com