Tattoos & Travelling Talks with Nish
This week in the series, we have a frank conversation between Grace and fellow Femme Fatale crew member and talented Black artist, Nish, about Black tattoo culture in the UK and worldwide.
Scroll down for a recap of Grace and Nish's conversation.
G: This week I’m gunna be talking to Nish, who’s a good friend of mine and is a Black female tattoo artist in London and we’re gunna be talking to her about her experiences in the industry. Nish, could you introduce yourself please.
N: Hey guys! I’ve just started working at Femme Fatale. I’m young in the game and I’m originally from Manchester, been in London for eight years and two of them tattooing.
G: In light of the happenings in the last few weeks, it’s really got me thinking and we’ve had conversations about this already, about the place of tattooing as in industry in the conversation. You’ve taught me so much already and I, as a white woman, have seen firsthand how there is not much representation for the Black community in our industry. I just wanted to ask you, as a woman of colour, what it’s been like for you as a tattooist?
N: When I started tattooing, I quite quickly became frustrated with the lack of representation. I feel like, as a Black tattoo artist, I just couldn’t find people who looked like me or could find many people I could tattoo of my skin tone or people of colour. I had heard from clients of bad experiences with tattooing on their skin, with keloid scarring. There’s been a large misinterpretation of what’s capable and possible on black skin. Moving forward, I started to learn from artists, that it’s not down to racism but really misinformation and a lack of knowledge on how to tattoo black skin.
Black-owned tattoo shops in London:
Inkology, Brixton
Addicted 2 Inkz, Croydon
Black female tattoo artists in the UK:
Tosca - London
Sore Points - Bristol
M - London
Tianna - London
Natasha Jackson - London
Rizza Boo - Glasgow
Leane Kerr - London
Jessica - London/Chicago
Platforms to follow for more POC artists:
