Photography: Grant Bowyer
INKIN’ AROUND PONSONBY
Left: The team at DERMAGRAPHICS – Mel Metz, Emma Mackley, Sherilyn Matthias and Darryn Watkins; Right: Stefan Sinclair of TWO HANDS TATTOO
I HAD ADMIRED TATTOOS ON OTHERS FOR MANY YEARS BEFORE MY FIRST lover bought me the gift of ink for my 24th birthday. It was a simple turtle, one of my favourite and most powerful animal totems, with a rainbow-coloured, Mayan yin-yang on its back. Like the way people say that whatever you’re doing on New Years Eve you’ll do for the rest of the year, every tattoo since then has mirrored my turtle. They’ve all been vibrantly, colourful blends of mythic and primal images that each mean as much to me today as they did the first day I got them.
Stefan started right out of school at Streetwise Tattoo in Newmarket. His art studies lead easily into designing unique work for people, which got him invited to bring his tattoo style down to Hamilton for a while at Studio 801. Nowadays his designs lean towards smaller, intense pieces no more than one or two sessions long, similar to his own first piece. It was a half Maori/half Celtic armband melded with the logo from punk band Crass, and it was done in 1995 by one of the other mainstays of the Ponsonby tattoo community.
I now live in New Zealand, a country where body art is deeply ingrained in the people and the culture. It’s almost like being back in San Francisco where all my ink was laid, except here it’s not just cool but part of society’s fabric. Perhaps its roots come from the traditional Maori ta moko, or via boat from neighbouring cultures that equally cherished body art. A part of it could have even been infused by the sailors of the early 20th century whose tattoos were simple, single-session images that reminded them of where they’d been or where their hearts were left.
Dermagraphics on College Hill was started by eccentric tattooist Phill Matthias in 1986 and has been run by his wife Sherilyn since a freak automobile accident took his life in 2005. During its history in the area the shop has seen the entire industry flip, with tattoos coming out of the shadow of their Polynesian and sailor-influenced roots to become recognised by the art world.
Wherever it came from, New Zealand is now considered the most tattooed country on Earth. I used to feel special, but not here where an estimated quarter of the country has some sort of body art. It’s ok, though. I’m glad to be part of a tribe in this country that crosses every ethnicity, age and gender. Although there’s a large number of Auckland parlours adding to this cultural wave, the diverse and vibrant Ponsonby area touts three visionary shops that includes the longest-running joint of its kind in the city. That’s the best place to start – at the beginning – with Merv at Auckland Tattoo Studio. It was 1969. The 747 took its maiden flight, the legendary Stonewall riots in New York started the global gay rights movement, and Merv began laying ink at his first shop in Auckland. This wasn’t his first career, however. He’d started out as a boy training to be a jockey in Hawkes Bay. It was during those young years of racing and horse training when his side-line started. Having picked up the art from his father who had tattooed folks during WWII, Merv would travel over to the freezer works in Wanganui on pay night and set up shop in the bar across the street, grinding ink into tattoo-hungry labourers until dawn. After leaving the horse world, he shifted up to Auckland and pursued tattooing full time. Over the decades he’s had four shops in the same general area of town until moving to his current home in Ponsonby nineteen years ago. During that time he’s done every type of tattoo on a continually changing demographic that’s shifted from 90% men at the start to the broad cross-section he works on today, and you can see his own body art has come a long way as well since he scribed the letters “NZ” on his wrist as his first tattoo way back when. Down the block is Two Hands Tattoo, one of the youngest shops in the hood which was opened by visionary tattoo artist Stefan Sinclair in 2005. He now employs a strong lineup of young ink-slingers who are very excited by their careers and motivated by the artistry they can explore at the shop. The impact of their work can be seen throughout Ponsonby, on bus shelters and billboards promoting their neo-classical classic and etching-inspired body art. “We like to push the envelope with new designs”, says Stefan, who only started advertising when the shop moved to Ponsonby from Upper Symonds Street last year. They’ve had a great following for many years, with some of the momentum coming from a general shift in the attitude towards tattoos. “People are much more confident about their tattoos, and there are way more people who already have tattoo work coming in to get more.”
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“Tattoos have become more personal”, reflects Sherilyn. She has seen body art shift from being just individual ‘flash’ pieces to being larger commitments of commissioned art with skin as the canvas. She points out that there are two different kinds of people who do tattoos, tattooists who generally copy artwork and tattoo artists who draw freehand art onto the skin before cementing the designs with ink. Both are genuinely beautiful, but you need to know who you’re hiring and what you’re paying for. Tattoo artist Darryn is the old dog at Dermagraphics, with 17 years at the shop. The biggest change he’s seen is that “people are thinking ahead more and planning on long-term designs”. This still hasn’t kept people from being deluded by shows like Miami Ink. “These shows don’t lead people towards realistic expectations.” He’s often amazed by how people come in wanting a huge piece, only to be shocked by the amount of time it’s going to take, except for tradesmen and those that have more ‘physical’ occupations. “They have a better grasp of practicality and effort.” There are some great choices for quality work in the Ponsonby area. You can tap into Auckland Tattoo’s decades of experience by calling Merv at T: 09 376 7217, check out Two Hands’ savvy designs at twohandstattoo.tumblr.com, and learn more about Dermagraphics’ wide range of styles at www.dermagraphics.co.nz. Whether you’re looking to get your first tattoo or planning on adding to an already large gallery of body art, the experts at these studios have a few tips you should take to heart before the needles takes to your skin. (LEIF WAUTERS) PN
A FEW TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS: • Find someone you’re comfortable with by doing research, checking out their work online and visiting their studio. • Make sure they have an established reputation and will work you through the experience. • Consider where the tattoo will go, especially when you want it in an easily seen area that can impact your job. • Tattoos often take longer to do than they do on TV so allow plenty of time for larger pieces to be completed and don’t rush your tattooist or artist into rushing through something that will be on you forever. • Once you’ve found someone, trust their judgement and be open to suggestions. Remember, they know a lot more about what will look good on your skin than you do.
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