Would you describe yourself as a veteran
or influencer in tattooing?
You're asking the wrong person. I think it's for
others to answer that question. I don't like to think
of myself in these terms, or exaggerate my
importance, imaginary or otherwise. From what I
can see, people have indeed been influenced by
my style, and my sketchbooks seem to sell fairly
well, which is very humbling. But I truly dislike the
term 'influencer'. It reeks of the self-absorbed
vanity of Instagram stars. You know what I mean.
When it comes to influence, I also fail to
understand why some artists throw their toys out
of the pram when someone copies their design.
Let's be realistic. If your work is good enough to
influence or inspire others, if your design is good
enough for someone to steal it, it's the biggest
compliment. Stomping your feet and crying is a
sign of insecurity in my eyes. As soon as you put
your effort out there it belongs to the world
anyway. I'm not saying I encourage stealing, but
let's not power trip over of it.
Over the past twenty years, have
attitudes to your work changed?
When I started out, I wanted to do the most
diabolical and far-out biomechanical designs
possible. But of course I couldn't. I was lacking
the composition skills, the technique, the
experience. Biomech was very popular back then,
and in all the magazines you could see that
typical 90s style – ripped skin revealing tubes and
wires inside – which gradually came to be seen a
bit cheesy. But I never really did that clichéd
biomech. I wanted to create something different.
And over time something really strange
happened. As the general interest in the 'biomech
style' evaporated, there was more and more
interest in the abstract and custom thing that was
starting to emerge in my portfolio. And I tirelessly
tried to convert people! I believe that an artist
cannot just passively sit on a pile of excellent
sketches and wait. One should actively try to
convince... no, bullythe prospective victim into
submission. And I did just that. I'm very
enthusiastic about what I do, and being blessed
with an army of open-minded and trusting clients I
was able to successfully kindle the fire of passion
for this obscure and godforsaken style. In general
the reaction to my work is, “It's cool, but what is
it?” And that, most of the time, is the appropriate
reaction.You’ve stated before that you regard
tattooing as a journey of self-discovery...
Yes, tattooing isa journey for sure. And getting
tattooed even more so. One can be in denial of
things, repress them, but in one way or another
they keep coming to the surface in the ritual that
is tattooing. Things you don't necessarily
understand or acknowledge even. You put things
on your skin, at a price of great pain and time,
and money too, and yet sometimes you don't