Community Statement
Tattoos and Illustrations can be quite expensive and reflect a mentality of luxury that doesn’t sit right with me, since it’s my chosen way to pay my bills I had to find a compromise.
I see tattoos as a way to regain our bodies, being it from trauma, exploitation, society, ourselves, this is our suit in this world and we do what we want with it, and tatoos are one way to make that statement.
Tattoos also don’t mean the same to everyone, and we need to understand that, for everyone tattooing is a ritual, but while for some it may be purelly aesthetic and beautifying, for other it’s healing, cultural, religious, therapeutic, so I believe it should be confronted differently according to each situation.
Tattoos have been criminalized in the hands of its creators, BIPOC communities, and in the last centuries our right to our culture has been taken away from us as well as space for BIPOCs in this industry, specially people with darker skin tones. It’s about time light skin tones’ tattoo artists that are actively exploiting BIPOCs’ culture gave up their space for the ones that are being marginalized.
In my practice, I try to make the emends I can, I’ve always made different prices for BIPOCs, and I always will, my art is for every body and every skin colour, for too long white people held the priviledge in this industry, we need to take it from them and give it back to BIPOCs.
This statement doesn’t only work for client and tattooer, but also for the piece you choose to tattoo, and yes, I’m talking about cultural appropriation. On this subject I will only talk on behalf of my culture, for I don’t have the authority to talk on behalf of others. For too long I’ve been seeing people getting my culture tattooed on their bodies for aesthetic, fetishizing my culture, with work done by other artists that are not from that culture, that wont stand up for that same community they are profiting from, and who, sometimes, are the ones oppressing us.
So I say this the nicest way possible: IF IT’S NOT YOUR CULTURE OR THE ARTIST CULTURE, DON’T TATTOO IT, AND THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO GATEKEEP CULTURE ARE BIPOCS ON THEIR OWN CULTURE.
It’s time we start being conscious with our actions.
More on community work.
When I notice that my work will have a healing, therapeutic meaning, being it covering scars, any sign of abusive situations, any other similarity to any of these, or if it’s for a disable person, I also make different prices and make ways to accomodate the person the best way possible to make sure the person is comfortable during the session.
It’s my decision, in the end, to choose what I do with my art, I don’t have enough money to give back any other way, the best I can do right now is to make people feel comfortable and confident in their bodies so thay can live their best lives.
I trully appreciate all of you who are able and willing to pay full price for my work, in a way you make it possible to make these reparations and help others, and well, also support me.
It’s time we start respecting and understanding each other, I’m sick of the individualistic mentality that this society educated us on. I don’t exist to compete with others, but to lift them up, and I’m incredibly grateful and proud of the community this practice allowed me to grow and be part of, and I hope you can see and feel it too, because you are part of it.