No one is likely to forget the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects. However, there’s a bunch of folks who want to go a step further by getting it inked as a reminder for the rest of their lives. With everything closed during the lockdown for most of last year and until recently, they could only resort to DIY tattoos or stick-ons. The reopening period is, however, giving them a chance to get the real thing and get that much-needed tattoo touch-up. Here’s a look at what’s going under the skin...
Tattoos get bigger and more meaningful; travel-themed designs gain popularity Lokesh Verma, tattoo artist and founder of a tattoo studio, affirms the trend of people heading back to the tattoo parlour. He says, “Surprisingly, we are getting requests for a lot of big pieces and the same thing happened after last year’s lockdown as well. This is because many clients are waiting to get tattoos done as soon as they can. With the threat of the third wave looming, most people are getting their old work finished or opting to get medium to bigger pieces in this period.”
For many people, getting a tattoo is akin to a feeling of liberation. Says celebrity tattoo artist Sunny Bhanushali, “Business has definitely grown and I would say the number of customers getting tattoos has increased by at least 60 per cent.” Tattoo designs are also getting versatile. He adds, “People are getting all kinds of tattoos, scripts, and names done. Many are coming in for cover-up tattoos as well, where you get a new tattoo done over an old one. We also see an increase in people from the LGBTQIA+ community getting meaningful tattoos done at our studio.”
Miniature Tattoo Is A Thing Now!
Vikas Malani, founder of a tattoo studio, shares, “People are now going for tattoos of the things they love — family portraits and pet tats, like dog and cat portraits, are big now. There is also a demand for script tattoos with motivational words.” Lokesh adds, “We are seeing a rise in travel-related tattoos like a compass, palm trees, a beach scene, world map, minimal paper planes and airplanes.”
Tattoo artists have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis: Tattoo studio owners Just like eateries and other establishments, tattoo parlours also have their safety protocols in place. “We are following the protocols as per government guidelines. We encourage online as well as over-the-phone or Zoom call consultations to avoid multiple physical interactions. Even the design is finalised online, ” says Sunny, adding, “While temperature checks are a must, customers should have had RT-PCR tests done in the past. Masks are mandatory for all. The studio is sanitised every morning and every tattoo station is sanitised after every use. Also, 90 per cent of the equipment is disposable.”
Lokesh shares, “We are used to taking a lot of precautions regardless of coronavirus, because hygiene is our number one priority, but we have added extra precautions to the other safety protocols, like wearing shoe covers. The idea is to not let a lot of people accompany the clients. We’re also making sure the studio is running at 50 per cent capacity to avoid overcrowding.” Adds Vikas, “Most tattoo artists have taken the jab, but they also have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis.”
Tribal Face Temporary Tattoo
The #Covidtattoo trend has gone viral on social media. Folks have been opting for designs of face masks, frontline workers, slogans saying, ‘I survived COVID’, and the virus itself.
Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox.The thing that Utsavi Jhaveri associates most strongly with her grandmother is her deep love for knitting and embroidery. When she passed away about two years ago, Jhaveri stumbled upon a treasure trove of her belongings – embroidered bags, saris, drapes and anything else that could be put under the needle. “My grandfather would come up with the designs, and she’d add the threadwork on top, ” Jhaveri recalls. “It was their way of bonding.” A lot of this featured Dori embroidery – involving a strong thread made of silk and cotton, and whose origins can be traced back to the Mughal era. Jhaveri, who’d recently returned from Los Angeles and begun her (self-taught) journey with tattooing, was drawn to this. In LA, while she’d been working as a copywriter, she’d “gravitated towards the ‘ignorant’ trend of tattoos - the doodle style of tattoos that were somewhat flippant, ironic, unserious, silly - but at the same time, heavily influenced by linework. I saw a lot of this happening in LA and began with it myself.” Rediscovering her grandmother’s Dori compositions brought Jhaveri something of an epiphany. “I started looking into different styles of embroidering. Kantha from Bengal to Rabari from Kutch: Embroidery is a huge part of South Asian culture. I found it so interesting that both embroidery and tattooing required needles. I wondered: if I changed the medium, could I still be a needlework artist?” Since then, with her work avatar as Borderline Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos), Jhaveri hasn’t only made Dori tattoos popular, she’s also deepened her engagement with other folk forms as well. A recent collaboration with the designer-illustrator Sudarshan Shaw saw her incorporate his designs – an exploration of folk art and India’s biodiversity – into her tattoo work. She has found inspiration in Kalighat paintings, the Maharashtrian folk art form of Chitrakathi, and Gond from Madhya Pradesh, for her popular “Jaanwar” collections. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Border-Line Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos) Jhaveri isn’t the only one. India’s alternative tattooing culture has blown up in the past three years as the tattoo’s street cred has evolved way beyond a symbol of rebellion or a statement of style. Ever more artists and patrons now seek out self-expression in needle, ink and motifs that are individualistic, unique and more personal; as carriers of beauty, memory and stories. Hand poke tattoos – actually the original form of tattooing by hand, before machines came through – are la mode. The ‘ignorant’ tattoo remains as trendy as constellations. While India’s rich history of tattoo art itself is being tapped into; a small but growing tribe of tattoo artists is diving deep into India’s cultural and natural heritage for inspiration. Take Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo), who claims to be “India’s first Gond tribal tattoo artist”, in his Instagram bio. Of Nepali descent, Amit has spent years in the company of tribal artists (also the Baigas from Madhya Pradesh) to learn the craft and the significance of their motifs. A hand poke tattoo artist, he has even fashioned his own hand-made wooden ‘godhana’ yantra, with which he carves dense and elaborate, nature-inspired metaphors for harmony, balance and all that is worth aspiring to in the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo) Another hand-poke tattoo artist of note is Shomil Shah (@shlo_poke). Based in Mumbai, but originally from London, Shah’s own practice focuses on trajva, the ‘jewellery tattoos’ of the Mer and Rabari tribes of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Ornamental in essence, and minimalistic in design, Shah’s trajva are dot-and-line motifs inspired by all things cosmological and earth-bound. Earlier this May, Shah brought out a godhna artist from the Badni tribe of Madhya Pradesh to join him in Bangalore on tour. On the side, he collects stories of traditional and indigenous tattoos from around the Subcontinent on the Instagram page India Ink Archive. View this post on Instagram A post shared by shomil (@shlo_poke) Simranh Kakkar of Ratattooille (@ratattooille_) also prioritises archiving, but with a twist. An artist, animator and storyteller from Delhi, she stumbled upon tattooing in 2020 and hasn’t looked back ever since. She considers tattoos to be vehicles of oral history, as evidenced in a recent project featuring “an animated loop of a tiger, ” she writes, “the frames of which I have tattooed across different bodies. In exchange for the tattoo, the wearers told me a folktale related to a tiger that they grew up with, in their own mother tongue.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) All of these are documented on her website, audio tracks complimented by translations of the stories, and a stunning tiger animation, prowling across the upper arms of several humans. For her next project, Kakkar is looking at the mudras and facial expressions found in Bharatanatyam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) While Delhi-based stick-and-poke artist Aaradhya (@PokesByRebel) has found inspiration in the Pattachitra wall art she crosses on her way to work every day for a flash sheet of fish tattoos; Kullu-based Krishna (@dreaminc_tattoos) has drafted a kolam or two on her clients – a south Indian mandala motif that stands of protection. A lot of these artists are self-taught in the craft of wielding needles, and driven by a desire to uncover, protect and build upon the bounty of the art around us. View this post
Vikas Malani, founder of a tattoo studio, shares, “People are now going for tattoos of the things they love — family portraits and pet tats, like dog and cat portraits, are big now. There is also a demand for script tattoos with motivational words.” Lokesh adds, “We are seeing a rise in travel-related tattoos like a compass, palm trees, a beach scene, world map, minimal paper planes and airplanes.”
Tattoo artists have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis: Tattoo studio owners Just like eateries and other establishments, tattoo parlours also have their safety protocols in place. “We are following the protocols as per government guidelines. We encourage online as well as over-the-phone or Zoom call consultations to avoid multiple physical interactions. Even the design is finalised online, ” says Sunny, adding, “While temperature checks are a must, customers should have had RT-PCR tests done in the past. Masks are mandatory for all. The studio is sanitised every morning and every tattoo station is sanitised after every use. Also, 90 per cent of the equipment is disposable.”
Lokesh shares, “We are used to taking a lot of precautions regardless of coronavirus, because hygiene is our number one priority, but we have added extra precautions to the other safety protocols, like wearing shoe covers. The idea is to not let a lot of people accompany the clients. We’re also making sure the studio is running at 50 per cent capacity to avoid overcrowding.” Adds Vikas, “Most tattoo artists have taken the jab, but they also have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis.”
Tribal Face Temporary Tattoo
The #Covidtattoo trend has gone viral on social media. Folks have been opting for designs of face masks, frontline workers, slogans saying, ‘I survived COVID’, and the virus itself.
Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox.The thing that Utsavi Jhaveri associates most strongly with her grandmother is her deep love for knitting and embroidery. When she passed away about two years ago, Jhaveri stumbled upon a treasure trove of her belongings – embroidered bags, saris, drapes and anything else that could be put under the needle. “My grandfather would come up with the designs, and she’d add the threadwork on top, ” Jhaveri recalls. “It was their way of bonding.” A lot of this featured Dori embroidery – involving a strong thread made of silk and cotton, and whose origins can be traced back to the Mughal era. Jhaveri, who’d recently returned from Los Angeles and begun her (self-taught) journey with tattooing, was drawn to this. In LA, while she’d been working as a copywriter, she’d “gravitated towards the ‘ignorant’ trend of tattoos - the doodle style of tattoos that were somewhat flippant, ironic, unserious, silly - but at the same time, heavily influenced by linework. I saw a lot of this happening in LA and began with it myself.” Rediscovering her grandmother’s Dori compositions brought Jhaveri something of an epiphany. “I started looking into different styles of embroidering. Kantha from Bengal to Rabari from Kutch: Embroidery is a huge part of South Asian culture. I found it so interesting that both embroidery and tattooing required needles. I wondered: if I changed the medium, could I still be a needlework artist?” Since then, with her work avatar as Borderline Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos), Jhaveri hasn’t only made Dori tattoos popular, she’s also deepened her engagement with other folk forms as well. A recent collaboration with the designer-illustrator Sudarshan Shaw saw her incorporate his designs – an exploration of folk art and India’s biodiversity – into her tattoo work. She has found inspiration in Kalighat paintings, the Maharashtrian folk art form of Chitrakathi, and Gond from Madhya Pradesh, for her popular “Jaanwar” collections. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Border-Line Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos) Jhaveri isn’t the only one. India’s alternative tattooing culture has blown up in the past three years as the tattoo’s street cred has evolved way beyond a symbol of rebellion or a statement of style. Ever more artists and patrons now seek out self-expression in needle, ink and motifs that are individualistic, unique and more personal; as carriers of beauty, memory and stories. Hand poke tattoos – actually the original form of tattooing by hand, before machines came through – are la mode. The ‘ignorant’ tattoo remains as trendy as constellations. While India’s rich history of tattoo art itself is being tapped into; a small but growing tribe of tattoo artists is diving deep into India’s cultural and natural heritage for inspiration. Take Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo), who claims to be “India’s first Gond tribal tattoo artist”, in his Instagram bio. Of Nepali descent, Amit has spent years in the company of tribal artists (also the Baigas from Madhya Pradesh) to learn the craft and the significance of their motifs. A hand poke tattoo artist, he has even fashioned his own hand-made wooden ‘godhana’ yantra, with which he carves dense and elaborate, nature-inspired metaphors for harmony, balance and all that is worth aspiring to in the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo) Another hand-poke tattoo artist of note is Shomil Shah (@shlo_poke). Based in Mumbai, but originally from London, Shah’s own practice focuses on trajva, the ‘jewellery tattoos’ of the Mer and Rabari tribes of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Ornamental in essence, and minimalistic in design, Shah’s trajva are dot-and-line motifs inspired by all things cosmological and earth-bound. Earlier this May, Shah brought out a godhna artist from the Badni tribe of Madhya Pradesh to join him in Bangalore on tour. On the side, he collects stories of traditional and indigenous tattoos from around the Subcontinent on the Instagram page India Ink Archive. View this post on Instagram A post shared by shomil (@shlo_poke) Simranh Kakkar of Ratattooille (@ratattooille_) also prioritises archiving, but with a twist. An artist, animator and storyteller from Delhi, she stumbled upon tattooing in 2020 and hasn’t looked back ever since. She considers tattoos to be vehicles of oral history, as evidenced in a recent project featuring “an animated loop of a tiger, ” she writes, “the frames of which I have tattooed across different bodies. In exchange for the tattoo, the wearers told me a folktale related to a tiger that they grew up with, in their own mother tongue.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) All of these are documented on her website, audio tracks complimented by translations of the stories, and a stunning tiger animation, prowling across the upper arms of several humans. For her next project, Kakkar is looking at the mudras and facial expressions found in Bharatanatyam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) While Delhi-based stick-and-poke artist Aaradhya (@PokesByRebel) has found inspiration in the Pattachitra wall art she crosses on her way to work every day for a flash sheet of fish tattoos; Kullu-based Krishna (@dreaminc_tattoos) has drafted a kolam or two on her clients – a south Indian mandala motif that stands of protection. A lot of these artists are self-taught in the craft of wielding needles, and driven by a desire to uncover, protect and build upon the bounty of the art around us. View this post
Vikas Malani, founder of a tattoo studio, shares, “People are now going for tattoos of the things they love — family portraits and pet tats, like dog and cat portraits, are big now. There is also a demand for script tattoos with motivational words.” Lokesh adds, “We are seeing a rise in travel-related tattoos like a compass, palm trees, a beach scene, world map, minimal paper planes and airplanes.”
Tattoo artists have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis: Tattoo studio owners Just like eateries and other establishments, tattoo parlours also have their safety protocols in place. “We are following the protocols as per government guidelines. We encourage online as well as over-the-phone or Zoom call consultations to avoid multiple physical interactions. Even the design is finalised online, ” says Sunny, adding, “While temperature checks are a must, customers should have had RT-PCR tests done in the past. Masks are mandatory for all. The studio is sanitised every morning and every tattoo station is sanitised after every use. Also, 90 per cent of the equipment is disposable.”
Lokesh shares, “We are used to taking a lot of precautions regardless of coronavirus, because hygiene is our number one priority, but we have added extra precautions to the other safety protocols, like wearing shoe covers. The idea is to not let a lot of people accompany the clients. We’re also making sure the studio is running at 50 per cent capacity to avoid overcrowding.” Adds Vikas, “Most tattoo artists have taken the jab, but they also have to get a COVID test done on a weekly basis.”
Tribal Face Temporary Tattoo
The #Covidtattoo trend has gone viral on social media. Folks have been opting for designs of face masks, frontline workers, slogans saying, ‘I survived COVID’, and the virus itself.
Please Click Here to subscribe other newsletters that may interest you, and you'll always find stories you want to read in your inbox.The thing that Utsavi Jhaveri associates most strongly with her grandmother is her deep love for knitting and embroidery. When she passed away about two years ago, Jhaveri stumbled upon a treasure trove of her belongings – embroidered bags, saris, drapes and anything else that could be put under the needle. “My grandfather would come up with the designs, and she’d add the threadwork on top, ” Jhaveri recalls. “It was their way of bonding.” A lot of this featured Dori embroidery – involving a strong thread made of silk and cotton, and whose origins can be traced back to the Mughal era. Jhaveri, who’d recently returned from Los Angeles and begun her (self-taught) journey with tattooing, was drawn to this. In LA, while she’d been working as a copywriter, she’d “gravitated towards the ‘ignorant’ trend of tattoos - the doodle style of tattoos that were somewhat flippant, ironic, unserious, silly - but at the same time, heavily influenced by linework. I saw a lot of this happening in LA and began with it myself.” Rediscovering her grandmother’s Dori compositions brought Jhaveri something of an epiphany. “I started looking into different styles of embroidering. Kantha from Bengal to Rabari from Kutch: Embroidery is a huge part of South Asian culture. I found it so interesting that both embroidery and tattooing required needles. I wondered: if I changed the medium, could I still be a needlework artist?” Since then, with her work avatar as Borderline Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos), Jhaveri hasn’t only made Dori tattoos popular, she’s also deepened her engagement with other folk forms as well. A recent collaboration with the designer-illustrator Sudarshan Shaw saw her incorporate his designs – an exploration of folk art and India’s biodiversity – into her tattoo work. She has found inspiration in Kalighat paintings, the Maharashtrian folk art form of Chitrakathi, and Gond from Madhya Pradesh, for her popular “Jaanwar” collections. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Border-Line Tattoos (@border.line.tattoos) Jhaveri isn’t the only one. India’s alternative tattooing culture has blown up in the past three years as the tattoo’s street cred has evolved way beyond a symbol of rebellion or a statement of style. Ever more artists and patrons now seek out self-expression in needle, ink and motifs that are individualistic, unique and more personal; as carriers of beauty, memory and stories. Hand poke tattoos – actually the original form of tattooing by hand, before machines came through – are la mode. The ‘ignorant’ tattoo remains as trendy as constellations. While India’s rich history of tattoo art itself is being tapped into; a small but growing tribe of tattoo artists is diving deep into India’s cultural and natural heritage for inspiration. Take Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo), who claims to be “India’s first Gond tribal tattoo artist”, in his Instagram bio. Of Nepali descent, Amit has spent years in the company of tribal artists (also the Baigas from Madhya Pradesh) to learn the craft and the significance of their motifs. A hand poke tattoo artist, he has even fashioned his own hand-made wooden ‘godhana’ yantra, with which he carves dense and elaborate, nature-inspired metaphors for harmony, balance and all that is worth aspiring to in the world. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Arjel Amit (@bluebloodtreetattoo) Another hand-poke tattoo artist of note is Shomil Shah (@shlo_poke). Based in Mumbai, but originally from London, Shah’s own practice focuses on trajva, the ‘jewellery tattoos’ of the Mer and Rabari tribes of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Ornamental in essence, and minimalistic in design, Shah’s trajva are dot-and-line motifs inspired by all things cosmological and earth-bound. Earlier this May, Shah brought out a godhna artist from the Badni tribe of Madhya Pradesh to join him in Bangalore on tour. On the side, he collects stories of traditional and indigenous tattoos from around the Subcontinent on the Instagram page India Ink Archive. View this post on Instagram A post shared by shomil (@shlo_poke) Simranh Kakkar of Ratattooille (@ratattooille_) also prioritises archiving, but with a twist. An artist, animator and storyteller from Delhi, she stumbled upon tattooing in 2020 and hasn’t looked back ever since. She considers tattoos to be vehicles of oral history, as evidenced in a recent project featuring “an animated loop of a tiger, ” she writes, “the frames of which I have tattooed across different bodies. In exchange for the tattoo, the wearers told me a folktale related to a tiger that they grew up with, in their own mother tongue.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) All of these are documented on her website, audio tracks complimented by translations of the stories, and a stunning tiger animation, prowling across the upper arms of several humans. For her next project, Kakkar is looking at the mudras and facial expressions found in Bharatanatyam. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Handpoke tattoos (@ratattooille_) While Delhi-based stick-and-poke artist Aaradhya (@PokesByRebel) has found inspiration in the Pattachitra wall art she crosses on her way to work every day for a flash sheet of fish tattoos; Kullu-based Krishna (@dreaminc_tattoos) has drafted a kolam or two on her clients – a south Indian mandala motif that stands of protection. A lot of these artists are self-taught in the craft of wielding needles, and driven by a desire to uncover, protect and build upon the bounty of the art around us. View this post
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