about me
Thanks for your interest in my work! Here’s a little bit about me, so that you can decide whether I’m the right fit for you 🙂
I have been working in the tattoo industry since 2013, as Studio Manager of various tattoo shops around Sydney. I took up tattooing in 2023, after being encouraged to turn my interest in precolonial cultural practices into a tangible craft.
I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney with my Ilokano Mom and Grandpa, and my Dad who is of Irish and Scottish ancestry. Both of my parents were consistently active in workers union movements during my entire childhood, which had a massive influence on my values as an adult. I believe deeply in justice and liberation for all people.
I always strive for my workspace to be a welcoming place for BIPOC, queer people, trans folks, SW, and anybody else who may experience discrimination based on their identity or ability.
The ‘Client Bill of Rights’ by Tamara Santibañez and K Lenore is an excellent ethical framework on how you deserve be treated as a client. Please feel free to read it and know this is the standard by which you should be treated no matter which studio or artist you are visiting.
I apply markings by hand poking, which means I do not use a tattoo machine. This method takes longer than machine tattooing but generally tends to heal easier and/or faster as it causes less trauma to the skin. You can think of it as a trading application time for healing time. Some people may also find the experience to be less intense as the tattoo sensations are essentially spread out thinner over a longer interval.
This does not mean that it is ‘better’ than machine tattooing - it’s just different. There are pros and cons to all methods. In the future I would love to learn to hand tap using more traditional methods, but for now I hand poke with modern single-use sterile tattoo needles. You can read more about this in the FAQ section.
Most of my work fits into three categories: batek (also known as ‘batok’ or ‘tatak’ by different Filipino ethnic groups), personalised intentional magick sigils, and pre-drawn ‘flash’ designs which are not culturally specific. The latter tend towards my interest in all things occult, earthy and celestial. I post and update these flash designs on my Instagram account.
I love requests for anything mystical and meaningful to you, so please always feel free to reach out with custom ideas! The individual ways that we find and create meaning for ourselves is something very close to my heart, so I really enjoy helping bring such things to life.
Custom batek markings that resemble the traditional placements of our ancestors tattoos are intended as an offering to clients of the '“Filipino” diaspora. You can find a comprehensive explanation for this at the end of my FAQ page.
It’s important to me that I maintain cultural sensitivity in my work, so I do have boundaries around some design concepts that I will not tattoo. You can find more info about the specifics of this on my FAQ page too.
Body adornments can be a deeply personal and transformative way of expressing ourselves, reclaiming and reconnecting to our roots, and taking more agency over our identity and our bodies. I look forward to meeting you and making cool things together.
Jurrah
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