How Poland Became a Tattoo Hotspot After Conservative Rule
A few years ago, Poland was making international headlines for its regressive politics: the far-right PiS government imposed strict anti-abortion laws and established so-called "LGBT-free zones."
Under Polish conservatism, tattoos were similarly stigmatised, often associated with criminality and largely dismissed as a legitimate art form. However, the tide is turning. In late Dec 2023, the PiS government lost the election to the more progressive Civic Coalition, signalling a broader demand toward liberal values. Attitudes toward tattoos are evolving in tandem.
"A few years ago, older generations weren’t too comfortable with people covered in tattoos," says Natalia, a 28-year-old tattoo artist who tattoos under the moniker Zimna Panna. "But now, people are starting to accept them more."
She’s not sure if Poland’s current tattoo boom is down to political change—(“or maybe it’s just me trying not to connect everything with politics”). Today, Poland's tattoo scene is thriving, with studios across the country showcasing some of the world's most talented artists. This includes a new wave of tattooists unafraid to play with contemporary styles like ignorant tattoo, cybersigilism and trash.
Part of this younger generation, Natalia leans on local sources of inspiration: citing 1930s folk embroidery as one of her current fixtures. Her work embraces an ignorant-style defined by simplicity, humour, and freestyle creativity. In the decade she’s been in the tattoo scene, she’s witnessed the evolution of the tattoo landscape firsthand. "When I started tattooing, it was all about geometry, floral compositions, and realism," she recalls. "But over time, more people got into it, and now it feels like there are more tattoo artists than clients.”
“We have a lot of extremely talented and unique artists. We’ve definitely developed some great modern tattoo styles but we also have a lot of strong players in an old school scene,” says Domi (@decaytattooer/), who describes her work as modern, gothic, ‘bestiary of the bizarre’. Domi believes Poland, in particular, is home to the trash / anti style of the contemporary scene, which is in “constant creation”: “before it was bold trashy outline, atm its all about messy shadings and playing with chiaroscuro”.
Like Natalia, Domi has also noted the changing in views on tattoos: "Tattoos here were quite stigmatised not so long ago, especially by the elder generation," she tells Trippin. "A lot of Polish seniors had this image in their heads about tattoos in general. For some of them the association was extremely unpleasant and traumatic as it reminded them about World War II and ghetto tattoo marks etc,"
Yet this connotation is changing, even in the eight years she's been working as an artist, especially in the ambitions and creativity of artists: "I can see a massive change over last few years. Warsaw, and also other big cities in Poland, right now are definitely at the same level of tolerance at most spectres, as it exists in other capitals or big cities of western European countries. In every big Polish city you can find amazing artists and studios."
However, like in many places across the world, there’s still a big difference between cities and countryside. Natalia’s family is from the more conservative and religious part of eastern Poland, and she has had to cut ties with family who don’t approve of her career or lifestyle. To have a tattoo—and to dedicate your career to as an artist—can go against an entrenched trad-conservatism in Poland, which is even more reason to support the emerging scene.
We've compiled a directory of artists and below, with recommendations from Natalia and Domi. We've also added a few in ourselves.
Where to get Inked in Poland Directory
Warsaw:
@bloody.racket
@absolutna_anihilacja
Studios:
@gafa_tatu
@paradiselost.warsaw
@serce_tatuaze
@europatattooshop
Wroclaw:
Krakow:
@sarnuhtattooer
@sinitsatrad
@maupa.pln
Poznan:
Studios:
Gdynia / Gdansk: