The tattoo lady: Adding to life's rich tapestry

Tattooing in New Zealand has a long and proud history. Some still see it as the realm of sailors and prisoners, while others consider it body art. How many are too many?

Most people who have tattoos have stories about the negative reactions they face when people see them. From “only criminals and sailors have tattoos”, to “aren’t you worried about what will happen when you get old?” (no), and “did it hurt?” (yes).

 

Reactions to tattoos range from the fascinated to the indifferent to the downright appalled. Writing for the Guardian, Jenn Ashworth said “Tattoos can be useful or beautiful or a combination of the two. That's reason enough.”

Sailors used to get images of Christ inked on to their backs to make the first mate reluctant to use the whip on them. They'd ask for elaborate designs on their limbs to mark voyages taken and ports visited – a kind of indelible dog tag that, they hoped, would identify a corpse lost at sea and washed ashore. Every mark had a story.

On Radio New Zealand’s The Panel last year (the conversation starts about 10 minutes in), lawyer Jonathon Krebs said that, “without wishing to sound like a complete old fuddy duddy”, he didn’t like tattoos: “I can see that there are some which have some merit. But by and large, I think tattoos are a bad thing. I think that anything you do to yourself which is permanent, and you can’t change – or certainly can’t change easily – and which makes a statement is a dangerous and silly thing to do….Get some felt pens and draw a tattoo on for a few days if you want.”

In New Zealand, we have tā moko, the customary practice of incising the skin and staining the incisions with ink. Ta Moko tell a story of someone’s history and whakapapa. Artist Maia Gibbs calls it a statement about what people believe in, and being proud to be Maori. “Representing your values, where you come from, your family, what you stand for, that kind of thing. Being from Gisborne, a pretty staunch Maori community, being staunch to that, being proud of it, and being able to represent that in a positive light.”

Leon Macefield is tattooed from his knees to his waist, and three-quarters of the way up his back. “It's all ta moko,” he says. “The leg and butt piece is called puhoro.”

Leon got his first tattoo when he was 19, with a small piece in the middle of his lower back. He’s been working on it for 11 years.

Different parts of Leon’s piece tell different stories about his family, and where he’s from. “For example the piece around my waist tells the story of taniwha who protect the heads of the Hokianga harbour.”

Charlotte Hillerby (who goes by Char), 29, isn’t quite so proud when she’s asked about her first tattoo. She cringes a bit when she talks about the lizard on her foot she got aged 16.“I guess at the time I probably thought it was pretty cool,” Char says. “Generally, good studios probably wouldn’t do someone under 18, but there is no law, as yet. That might change.”

She can’t really say how many tattoos she has now, but mostly because she’s not sure where they start and end. “I don’t know what to count, because there are ones that you add to, so is that one big one, or three different ones? I haven’t counted for a few years.”

But she doesn’t regret any of her ink, she says. “[There’s] definitely real estate that I’d use for other things these days, but no, no regrets.”

Charlotte has turned her love of tattoos and drawing into a career – something she was never expecting to happen. (She tattoos as Nursey No Mercy – and full disclaimer, she has tattooed me.) Her family is artistic and she has always drawn, but she didn’t pick up her first tattoo machine until she was 26.

“I love how tattoos look on skin, and on people,” she says. “I just love art, I guess. I like decorating things. I don’t like plain things, so I am making my body less plain.”

She agrees that her tattoos probably excessive to some people. “But then, anyone who loves anything, they’re going to be more excessive about the thing they love than other people around them.”

Leon Macefield doesn’t think his are excessive either, but he does want more. And it’s not his place to say if other’s body art is excessive, though “I do find people with more tattoos more interesting,” he says.

These days, tattooing is more about the art than the old days of picking a picture of off a wall – known as flash – and having an artist draw it on. When Char is asked about her favourite pieces she rattles off three, complete with the names of the artists who did them. And tattoos often don’t have an intense personal meaning.

“I think I used to pretend they did when I was younger,” Char says. “I think I used to pretend for the sake of my aunties and uncles that they did, but they don’t really.”

She’s aware of the negative perception people have of tattoos. “I definitely walk through places knowing people are staring. I was in the supermarket today, and there was a man, not hiding the fact that he was just staring. I don’t think it’s negative all the time, I think people are just interested, which is fine, because that’s why I get tattoos.”

She says people often feel more comfortable touching her than she’d like – people will grab her arm when she’s handing over money to touch her tattoos. And they often ask why she gets them. While Char is searching for an answer for my question of ‘Why?’, another artist pipes up from across the room to say “Why not?”

And as for whether she’s worried about how her tattoos will look when she’s older? “I think everybody worries about what’s happening to their skin as they get older. I guess my skin is just going to be old and interesting.”

Leon says his tattoos generally can’t be seen, and when they are, the reaction has always been positive. “I tend not to show my tattoos off a lot – they are very personal and are family stories so are very private. People often ask me to show them (which would include showing them my butt) and that makes me feel a bit uncomfortable because they are so personal.”

Char has advice for people getting tattoos: research your artist. “You wouldn’t go to an old-school artist for a realistic portrait unless they do both [styles]. Just talking to someone you can normally get a feel about whether it’s going to be a good place or not and whether you understand each other,in terms of design, composition, placement.

“It has come a long way – back in the day sailors would go and pick something off the wall and then get tattooed, and go back to sea,” she says. “But these days you want to – well, I want to – have someone whose art you love. Have them draw something custom; I can’t imagine seeing someone else with my same tattoo.”

She suggests researching the studio, and going in and checking it out before your appointment – many studios will ask for a deposit anyway – and make sure it’s hygienic. (There’s little regulation around tattooing in New Zealand. Auckland City Council requires studios to have a health licence. The Ministry of Health has information on how to protect your health, and guidelines for customary tattooing, and the EPA has information on the inks used in tattoos after concerns over heavy metals.)

Char also advises against being hungover (“That’s something you only ever do once,” she says) and says be prepared to part with some money. “There’s an old saying – a good tattoo isn’t cheap, and a cheap tattoo isn’t good. And it’s going to be on you forever, so you want to make sure it’s good. Don’t just get someone who has got a Trade Me machine and wants to have a hoon.”