Sydney’s top tattoo artists reveal most challenging designs: Rhys Gordon, Kian Forreal, Sasha Mezoghlian
Sydney’s top tattoo artists have shared insights into their most challenging and elaborate designs as demand for getting inked shows no signs of slowing. See their most challenging works.
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Sydney’s top tattoo artists have shared insights into their most challenging and elaborate designs as demand for getting inked shows no signs of slowing in the city.
Full body tattoos and intricate designs taking up to 14 years to complete are some of the stunning works completed by artists at tattoo studios in suburbs including Redfern, Balmain and Surry Hills.
Many of the artists say record numbers of Sydneysiders are seeking out more elaborate designs as demand picks-up following two years of Covid-19 restrictions which brought the industry to a standstill.
Rhys Gordon, the owner of Little Tokyo in Surry Hills, said more people are viewing tattoos as a form of art and self expression.
“The impact of Covid over the past couple of years has definitely given people time to think more about tattoos and also people now have disposable income saved up, which they can spend on those bigger pieces,” he said.
“The border closures have also meant that we gained a lot of clients that would normally go to Bali or Thailand for cheaper work.
“With the restrictions imposed upon society, I believe people are looking to tattooing as a way to create or recreate their identity and as a form of even greater self expression.”
The demand for getting inked has also been spurred on by shifting perceptions of tattoos.
Jamie Kirchen, who works at Hunter & Fox Tattoo in Beaconsfield, said tattoos have become more mainstream in society.
“Tattoos seem to be more accepted these days – that could be due to the expression of art and variation in the industry and with high profile people in the media now having tattoos such as sport stars and movie stars,” he said.
Artists say current trends in the industry include the black and grey realistic tattoos, traditional Japanese and Japanese inspired tattoos, barbed wire tattoos and fine line pieces which can appear lighter than a traditional tattoo.
Sasha Mezoghlian, who co-owns the Darling Parlour in Balmain with her husband Moses, said dedication to quality work and maintaining a strong reputation were among the keys to standing out in the crowd.
“Understanding how tattooing works in the skin and how to apply the tattoo takes time and years of experience,” she said.
“I’ve been tattooing for almost 14 years this year and still feel like there is so much to learn in terms of different ways of applying the tattoo and getting different effects.
“Nowadays there are so many different inks, machines and needles coming out and always advancements in the industry that make tattooing better and better.
“I still remember the days when I was embarrassed to tell people that I was a tattooer as I was afraid of their judgment, that’s not the case anymore.
“So many people now have tattoos and it’s definitely more accepted and thought of as art now and something worth appreciating.”
We take a look at some of the most challenging and impressive work completed by top artists in the industry.
RHYS GORDON
I started tattooing Erwin nearly 15 years ago and he has around 140 hours of tattoo work on his body. I’m sure he never thought he would have a full body suit. Japanese tattooing tends to flow that way and over the years we have added on to complete his suit.
Throughout the process we would discuss designs, plan out artwork, and appointment schedules. A great collaborative process. We have also attended tattoo conventions overseas and travelled to Japan together.
Tattooing can be more than just a job, in this case a life long friendship and many great experiences and memories made. An honour and also an artist’s dream to do this type of work.
– See more of Gordon’s work on Instagram.
KIAN ‘HORISUMI’ FORREAL
This bodysuit tattoo was completed on Jason in 2019 after nearly seven years of work. Everything in this tattoo is based off of traditional Japanese designs and motifs and was composed to fit him using the natural flow and shape of his body.
Half of this tattoo was created using tattoo machines and the other half was created using traditional Japanese handpoke style called tebori which utilises a bamboo tool with needles attached to the end.
The entire bodysuit took around 400 hours and the main back design is based on a Japanese warrior print from the 1800s and has been tattooed in very strict Japanese traditional style.
– See more of Forreal’s work on Instagram.
JAMIE KIRCHEN
My client had ideas of what he was after, which most clients do — I translate their verbal reference into an image that I think works perfectly for the area and flows organically with the location of the body.
With this particular piece, my client sent a photo of his neck, this gave me the shape/space of the area. Therefore, I was able to draw my design directly over his image of his neck on my iPad as I design digitally these days, which makes the process a lot faster with a smoother transition overall.
Neck tattoos are never an easy area to be tattooed as there is so many variables with the area and procedure itself, it can be uncomfortable for the client and for the artist as it is a tedious area to be tattooed and to achieve a clean solid tattoo — a lot more swelling and or bleeding can occur in this area which makes the process much more difficult opposed to other areas on the body, but it is achievable.
– See more of Kirchen’s work on Instagram.
SASHA MEZOGHLIAN
The tattoos I have provided are all some of the larger designs I have undertaken recently, one is a floral leg sleeve featuring all Australian native designs, and the other is a floral and bird sleeve, all Korean inspired illustrations.
Both these pieces will be around 20 to 30 hours in total of tattooing. Both clients are so tough and the commitment is so amazing and I’m so, so grateful for their trust and commitment.
Doing such large work is such a big task for both the tattooer and client. I started both these pieces at the beginning of the year.
– See more of Mezoghlian’s work on Instagram.
TOM RODER
An interesting challenge for this piece is that the original design was just supposed to be the head of the fu-dog. When the client saw it, he requested to make it a full fu-dog covering the entire calf which made it a new tattoo and design.
It’s always tricky when a concept is changed. I reworked it to make sure the body of the fu-dog would flow nicely with the calf and used bold lines and strong colours to make it the most impactful.
– See more of Roders’ work on Instagram.
RYAN USSHER
This tattoo is the client’s first ever tattoo and the start of their full body suit. We made this in 2021. Knowing the client wants to extend this tattoo to their entire body means that it needs to be planned in a way that has enough impact to draw you in and enough simplicity for the images within the piece to be clear and also relate to each other.
I start this process by tracing the clients full back using clear contact. Then I am able to draw the piece to fit the body exactly.
The most challenging part is making sure the design sits on the body clearly, without crossing the natural folds of skin and indents that occur, or making those parts of the body work with you and become part of the piece.
The client came to me with an idea for the design. But was open to my suggestion and interpretation. Most of my inspiration comes from Ukiyo-e, folk-law and things used in Japanese theatre.
– See more of Ussher’s work on Instagram.
RAYMOND VOM
This back piece is one I was especially proud of because it uses so much of my design knowledge and different techniques for tattooing that I’ve learnt over my career.
It starts off with what I think is a well balanced overall design that’s interesting to look at. It has symmetry, yet both sides are not identical.
There’s a mix of soft and harsh elements. There’s close up portraits on the top with smooth detail, delicate and intricate details in the centrepiece and hard lines and saturation in the script piece at the bottom. This is a piece that will (and has) turned heads.
– See more of Vom’s work on Instagram.
ALEX RUSTY
This back piece depicts the Japanese god of thunder, Raijin. It’s on a dedicated client who is on the trajectory towards a full body suit. My aim is to make clear and readable designs that have impact even from a distance. I also want to convey movement in the still image.
This design pays homage to Japanese masters of woodblock prints from the Ukiyo-e era, most notably Kawanabe Kyōsai.
– See more of Rusty’s work on Instagram.
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