Were you a part of the local tattoo sub culture
before you left SA, do you follow/support the
local artists in SA?
I was never into tattooing when I lived in SA. I
grew up there till my teenage years. During that
time I never really took my art as seriously as
now, I was too busy with school, partying, being
a teenager etc. So I never really knew any South
African artists. I don’t think I know any to this
present day either.
As every sub culture eventually becomes, has
tattooing become mainstream in Amsterdam or
is there a community that honours what a tattoo
essentially means: a lifelong commitment.
I think in general tattooing has become
mainstream world wide, not only in Amsterdam.
As with everything, there will be people that
are true to the culture and understand and/or
respect, as well as it and those that do it because
they want to be ‘cool’ or fit in. Unfortunately, the
group of people that get tattoo’s just to act cool
or for the wrong reasons far exceeds the group
that truly understand the art of tattooing.