THE MICRO NICHE

AN UNDERGROUND CONVERSATION ON MODERN TATTOOING

*Red flower chestpiece by* *@prettyskinstickers* *- NYC*

THE MICRO NICHE

Modern tattooing gets more complex and specialized every year. In compiling my 2022 retrospective, I kept thinking, "do these artists even know of each other?", which is not necessarily a bad thing.

A narrow focus can be a major asset, especially as Gen Z enters this space. A generation raised with social media, their brains forming around instant access to every idea, will have hyper-specific self expression. This is where the micro niche can thrive.

My prediction, and frankly my hope, is that more artists can narrow their creative focus in years to come. Tattooing is for everyone, so I view market saturation as an opportunity to get highly specialized while still paying the bills.
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(Note: This mailer is quarterly now, a more sustainable schedule for me. And you can read my full interview with Jamie Luna on spirituality and commerce in tattooing, as excerpted in the last mailer.)

GHISLAIN

Yves Klein Blue is a staple of @ghislain______'s work. If you're not familiar with it, this shade is famous for its impact on the viewer. The saturation and rich ultramarine quality pull people in. I've often seen it used in large scale paintings, in films and even performance art. But Ghislain shrinks it down in this series of abstract handpoked pieces.

Handpoked tiny adornment series by @ghislain______ - Berlin:

IVAN SLAY

@ivanslay's "Sad Flowers" series feels like if @prettyskinstickers was playfully nihilistic with cognitive dissonance, and I’m here for it.

Sad Flowers series by @ivanslay - Bogotà Colombia:

HUMBLEBEE

Brittany @humblebeetattoo's sleeves often feel like pattern designs. The flowers are positioned in a rhythmic way, with negative space keeping them in conversation.

Egyptian flower series by @humblebeetattoo - Toronto:

STANO TMA

Bolder line trends coincide with the spread of modern sigil tattoos. While @stanotma does offer stenciled geometric designs, his freehand work stands out. Reminiscent of lightning, cracked glass or flowing water, these pieces have an organic quality with a wandering mood.

Free-machine series by @stanotma - Prague CZ:

ME BUT YOU

Lars @me_but_you describes their work as "hanging in the balance." The Void series imagines diamond-shaped portals into colorful dimensions, while the Stacked series transforms domestic items into organized chaos.

Stacked (top) and Void (bottom) series by @me_but_you - Seattle USA:

ROCALINE

Illustrator and ceramicist @rocaline_tattoo creates both architectural and nature-based abstractions. Her Sea Flash series caught me this year, as it really comes to life when transferred from paper to person.

Sea Flash series by @rocaline_tattoo - Lisbon / On the Road:

CORRIE FOREMAN SHIRSAT

India-based tattooer @corrieforeman describes the beaded Mark-Making series as focused on “process over final aesthetic.” All designs are spontaneously free-machined, “trusting that if we follow the previous line, dot or bead that the piece will ultimately form itself. This trust is a play on letting go of the idea of control, whilst turning our back on perfection."

Beaded Mark-Making series by @corrieforeman - Kokan Maharastra, India:

corrieforeman 2 simulated ink rubbing eg deadbirdlfying_ok.jpg

UNKNOWN ENCODING

Queer artist Sofa @unknown.encoding carries the goal of transforming clients and their relationships to their bodies. "We do not choose a body when we are born, it’s 'given' to us unconsensually and many of us struggle with accepting and loving our bodies," they share. "We sometimes feel trapped in them... Getting a tattoo is an act of 'reclaiming' our body, finally deciding ourselves how we want to look."

Texture series by @unknown.encoding - Berlin:

unknown dot encoding - more organic cala biafra or paint cracking.jpg

NOA MARGALIT

Many tattooers focus on geometry, or on photorealism, but it's less common to do both. Noa @noa.tattoot's still life series frames vivid botanicals with fine line, ornamental patterns. Together, they carry a warm domestic vibe, as if glancing around a friend's kitchen.

Still life pattern series by @noa.tattoot - Tel Aviv:

YAN2 TA2

Korean artist Yani @yan2_ta2 also blends techniques with the Hug and Kiss series. Black and grey portraits focus on the intimacy of a lover's embrace, while oil pastel scribbles (or at least, a tattoo machine simulating those textures) convey the passion and intensity of the moment.

Hug and Kiss series by @yan2_ta2 - Seoul ,Korea:

MASU

Makeup artists are spontaneously painting Masu @masuspetites's “Bubble heads" on their own faces, and I've never seen anything like it. It's quintessential meme culture, with everyone adding their own twist. I'd love to see more crowd-sourced collaborations like this in the future.

Bubble head by @masuspetites with fan art re-creations - Las Vegas USA:

SERVADIO COLLABORATIONS

Michele @servadio_'s large-scale collabs with other tattooers really stepped things up this year. His stylized illustrations, contrasted with patterns from @nicobone_ (left) or @a_brunello (right), are really striking.

That's a wrap for ISSUE 015. This mailer is an unpaid and unsponsored labor of love, as it's always been. I welcome your feedback, corrections and contributions.

If you'd like to buy me a coffee, PayPal or Zelle: tattrx@gmail.com or Venmo @chillpolyamory

With love,
Morgan

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All image copyrights are retained by the artists. All text copyrights reserved by Tattrx, LLC.