For them the body is their work surface and the tattoos it bears are walking works of art. A tattoo is a personal act between the tattooist who leaves his mark and burns his creation on the skin of the tattooed. Each artist has his own style and agenda, but they all see and respond to the person sitting in front of them, telling their story through art.
“I was always a bad student in school, but in art I used to make letters. When I was released from the army I went to study graphic design, I always had an affinity for design and art. When I decided I wanted to be a tattoo artist, I moved between all the big studios in Tel Aviv, until my master, David Moreno, agreed to accept me for studies. I studied under him and worked in his studio for about five years. Little by little I started to develop my style and concentrate on works that interest me more.”
What attracted Yona to this world were the people “I think that taking part in another person’s personal journey through art is a privilege like no other. The art of tattoos actually allows me to touch another person’s heart through my creation. It’s amazing.” His style is characterized by combining realism with fine lines and geometric elements. Over the years it has been perfected. “I constantly strive to develop and learn more, touch styles that are not necessarily what I am best at and make them a part of me” he explains.
touch a person’s heart (Noam Yona)
Jonah’s works (Noam Yona)While the world of tattoos has been upgraded, partly in equipment and techniques, he continues to work mostly in Photoshop on his sketches for a new work. “If you meet young tattoo artists, they don’t open a computer at all anymore, they draw everything on an iPad with all kinds of apps designed for graphic design and drawing” he says about the recent changes. “The tattoo machines have gone through a crazy transformation. From something very cumbersome, full of small parts, cables, etc., they have become compact and wireless machines with a built-in power supply.”
At the moment his career peak is crowning the invitation he received to come and tattoo at Bang-Bang Studio, a large and well-regarded studio in Manhattan. “All the rockstars of the tattoo world work there. I tattooed there for seven days people who flew from all over the US just to get tattooed by me and all the big names were sitting in the stands next to me. It was very exciting.”
Combining realism with fine lines and geometric elements (Noam Yona)
“An amazing personal story that becomes a special and one-off sketch” (Noam Yona)And what about the craziest tattoo you ever got?
“I decided to see how crazy my followers are, I posted a question mark story and asked who was brave enough to come and get a tattoo with their eyes covered without seeing the sketch first. The responses were crazy, more than 400 people sent me messages that they were ready to come. I did a lottery and a sweet client was chosen who really came At the studio, we covered her eyes throughout the entire process and only when we finished the tattoo did she see it on her arm.
And what does a standard creation process look like?
“Everything starts with the client and his idea. They send me an email, detailing the idea for the tattoo, the story behind it, a central element that they would like to include and basically as many details as possible. The client and I meet for a planning conversation where I ask questions to really understand what the client would like to express in his tattoo Yona explains about the work process. “On the day of the tattoo, I draw/design the sketch based on what we talked about. Many times what I get is very different from our first conversation, but somehow everything always comes together into an amazing personal story that becomes a special and one-off sketch.”
“I believe that I am a big part of a crazy change that is happening right now in the world of tattoos” (Edith Ben Gida)Throughout her life Gida was involved in art, she was exposed to the world of tattoos during her military service. “At that time, the world of tattoos was completely different from what it is today. People would come and choose the tattoo they wanted from a brochure, the artist didn’t have his own statement or special style,” Gida tells us. She felt that it was not for her and turned to a career in the visual arts field. “I worked with galleries in Tel Aviv and painted all day. The significant change happened when my husband, Avihu, started tattooing.” She saw how the field was perfected with new techniques that make the work more precise and customers who give space to the artist. With a strong longing to return and try her luck as a tattooist, she was quickly drawn back into this world and began to develop her style in micro-realism inspired by her paintings. “I believe that I am a big part of a crazy change that is currently happening in the world of tattoos” she explains. “In the past I used to be upset that maybe I was born in a time when realistic art like the Renaissance is no longer appreciated and today it is already very common, today I understand that I am exactly at the right time and in the right place. I am part of a change that has happened in recent years in the art of tattoos, thanks to social media a global gallery has been created that brings our art to everyone The world and the feedback I receive are amazing.”
How do you define your style?
“I always knew that I liked to paint realistically, to imitate nature, the human figure and present it from my eyes. My style comes from years of research, when I was just a painter I reached a field very complete with the style I want to perform, the realistic style. So that I can do This is the best way I have focused on small tattoos that take up a smaller surface area, that I can insert details and still finish a piece in its entirety due to the client’s time that needs to be taken into account.
for details (Edith Ben Gida)
“It amazes me to understand how much trust a client places in me” (Edith Ben Gida)I really like creating textures in my works, I always build my base with lots of texture and continue building layers and connections of wallpaper, paintings, prints. I like to combine Victorian patterns and create a surreal atmosphere. It ranges from delicate works in pastel color, to a gothic and rough style. I belong to the stream of tattoos called fine line and work with a ‘single needle’ needle as thick as a hair. With her help, I can include every detail in the tattoo, the precision that can be achieved with her is not something that existed five or six years ago, therefore, the feeling that I am part of something new is exciting and exciting every day.”
Most of the works are born from personal sketches that she creates and uploads to Instagram, looking for a home with a future client and some of them arise from ideas the client comes with and together they build the piece. “It amazes me to understand how much trust a client places in me when he sees that I come up with something that I want to perform and hands me his body for the sake of this art.” Today she spreads her knowledge through online courses and international conferences and travels and tattoos around the world “but the thing that excites me the most is the customers who come especially to Tel Aviv from all over the world to get tattooed” she adds.
The realistic style (Edith Ben Gida)
like a renaissance (Edith Ben Gida)Instagram made the tattooists into recognizable figures, with the visual platform allowing them to reach a wide audience with their work. “People recognize me in the streets and tell me how much they like my work, it’s not perceived by me. I understand that today inspiration is everywhere thanks to social networks. I upload content where I tattoo and people see me, draw inspiration from it and love it, it always amazes me.”
Dana Shashu (Maya Oshri parable)Dana Shashu was exposed to art from her childhood, when she grew up next to a painter mother with works spread all over the walls of the house. After her military service, the field of tattoos intrigued her and she decided to continue studying the field “Back then the world was different, there were hardly any women in the profession and everyone looked at me as if I had fallen from the moon. So I decided to get a degree in art and see what happens from there.” She paved the rest of her career in the art field for film productions, where she learned, among other things, the power of composition. “After my degree, I went to India, thinking that when I returned to Israel I would continue with productions. There, I met my partner, a tattooer at the time, I told him that it had always been a dream and he let me tattoo him. I just fell in love. When I came back, I changed my direction and started learning to tattoo. I guess if we hadn’t Let’s meet, I wouldn’t get a tattoo today,” says Shashu.
In the art of tattoos she finds a winning combination between art, people and the human body. “I’ve always loved the human body, I studied biology, I was a medic in the army and even started a degree in physical therapy, so it spoke to me on that level as well. I also love working with people and one of the things I love most about the profession is the privilege of meeting so many different people and connecting with them in a very personal way “There is something very intimate about the relationship between a tattooist and a tattooist,” she explains. This is reflected in her perception of tattoos as art on the body “The canvas is half of the work, therefore in my tattoos there is an over consideration of the body on which the tattoo is located. The tattoo is supposed to tell a story along with the body and they are an inseparable part of each other. My tattoos are not paintings, they are meant to be tattoos And each one is created specifically for the tattooed person’s body, a kind of temporary jewel.”
“I am very aware of my body and try to flatter it” (Dana Shashu)
“To make people, especially women, feel complete with their body, be proud of it and celebrate it” (Dana Shashu)What style do you tattoo?
“Geometric ‘Body Flow’. I look at a person and adapt the tattoo to them inspired by their body and personality. Especially with women, I am very aware of the body and try to flatter it, emphasize certain areas and blur others. In my mind I am a type of seamstress/fashion designer and as far as I am concerned, there is no It makes sense to buy a beautiful dress if it doesn’t flatter my body, it will always sit in the closet. Anything on my body should flatter it and make me feel confident. Tattoos can totally do that, I feel that especially in my work on scars. An area that once the client He used to hide and hide, suddenly he becomes the most beautiful and proudly shows his tattoo. There is no doubt that one of my biggest goals is to make people, especially women, feel complete with their body, to be proud of it and celebrate it.”
One of her bigger jobs was covering a massive scar all over a client’s buttocks and back. “The process with her was simply amazing, she was very worried and in general felt a great insecurity about the scarred part. From session to session she opened up and slowly saw the scar disappear. It was simply exciting to see and since then she updates me on all her first times; the first time she wears a bikini In the sea, that she goes into the girls’ locker rooms or that she runs with a top. Things that are so routine to the rest of the people, every time I tear up again,” she says excitedly. With Shashu, every new work begins with a conversation to understand who is the person on whom she is going to tattoo her work. Then she continues free drawing on the body and builds and refines the composition and from there moves to digital design or sometimes continues to create the tattoo freely on the body.
How has the field developed over the years?
“It has changed a lot technologically since I started. I was still in the era of the old, heavy and noisy ‘coil’ machines, the ones you see in the movies. Today the whole field has changed due to technology; there are cute little machines that look like cool pens. The iPads have also completely changed the field, if ever I would make mandalas with a photo camera. Today, an app is enough and anyone can produce an exact mandala like no other. Of course, with ease comes difficulty, because now you are required to reinvent yourself every time. Rock stars, when I started it was a marginal profession and now it has moved to the forefront. I suppose it is also just a period, because what rises quickly falls quickly. I believe that the field will balance again down the road.”
A temporary jewel (Dana Shashu)
Adapts the tattoo to the person (Dana Shashu)And what is your dream?
“We never really see what we have achieved, but where there is more to progress and the moment we stop progressing with our art it means that we have become bored and then the art we make will also be boring. I want to make works on a large scale, I want to help people love their bodies and I just I want to be a good tattooist. But really, really good.”
Being a successful tattoo artist doesn’t just come down to great talent and a steady hand, you have to be a people person; Get to know the person standing in front of you, understand their story. And finally, to be able to express and convey these ideas on a sheet of paper, a sketch that will find its way on the human body and accompany it forever.