Tattoo Life Magazine 147

Description

In this issue meet Michelle Carlton, known in tattoo and artistic circle as LadySky, cover girl of this issue and full-time tattoo artist, interdisciplinary painter and illustrator, originally from Wellington, New Zealand.

The German tattoo artist Peter Hilgers works in his Tinten-Manufaktur in Aachen, he is known for impressive tattoos which blend Realism (of a nerdy kind) and Japanese Anime full exquisite contrast and fluid colours designed to create just the right tension between light and dark.

We meet Matt Jordan, one of the biggest names in Realistic on the international tattoo scene who is known for his dramatic “realistic epic” style, but in general for his big pieces of thrilling scenes which truly seem to come to life on the body of those wearing them. And to go and see him in the earthly paradise where he lives in New Zealand is a truly unique experience…

We go to Vicenza, in Italy, to visit Guido GB, owner of the tattoo shop LAG Tattoo. We talk with him about the history and symbolism of Traditional and all the passion, romanticism and decadence these iconic subjects have been imbued with as they have become codified over time.

Bold lines, bright flat colours and powerful impact, with a flavour of the tattoos of the 60s and 70s, are the elements of the Oriental style of Lele Yuoli Chinese by birth and recently settled in Milan, tells us herself in this interview.

See the Portfolio dedicated to Sakiko Nomura who travelled for a whole year, following the activities of Edo Chōyūkai, a society dedicated to the continuation of Edo tattoo culture founded at the end of the Meiji era [1868-1912] and the oldest tattoo club in Japan. Every year the association organises a pilgrimage to Mount Oyama for a formal worship service. While traditional tattoo culture remains virtually unknown in Japan, an online video documenting Edo Chōyūkai’s traditional pilgrimage was viewed 1.2 million times abroad.

Women in traditional Vietnamese dress, animals of the Zodiac, skeletons and imagery from Oriental tattoo all move light as ghosts in the visual language of Saigon tattooist Danis Nguyen, whose work struck us with the delicacy and elegance of the subjects it portrays.