INTERVIEW | ZAMBIA’S TATTOO GURU
The art of the tattoo TGZ speaks to the leading tattoo artist in Zambia aka Zambia’s Tattoo Guru By Kanekwa Tundashi
T
attoos are created by inserting indelible ink beneath the skins surface. According to Wikipedia, the first written reference to the word “tattoo”(or Samoan “Tatau”) appears in the journal of Joseph Banks, the naturalist aboard Captain Cook’s ship the HMS Endeavour” The word tattoo is said to have two major derivations-from the Polynesian word ‘ta’ which means striking something and the Tahitian word ‘tatau’ which means to mark something.
Photo credit, Zambia’s Tattoo Guru
It is not certain how tattoos came about but they date back to 4th millennium BC, where several different tribes are thought to have used tattoos for healing properties and some for their own traditional reasons. Despite the social sciences growing fascination with tattooing, and the immense popularity of tattoos themselves, the practice has not left much of a historical record. Mutakela Eugene Lisimba also known as The Zambian Tattoo Guru is behind all the skin art that we see in Zambia today. The talented artist has a knack of transferring fine art onto skin with finesse and absolute ease. No wonder he is The Zambian Tattoo Guru. The Guru, as I shall refer to him, started drawing at a very tender age. He went to Chalo and Lusaka West Schools where he started im-
proving on his talent. He took advantage of the Art teachers at his school that helped him with ideas and how to go about the designs. After completing his secondary education, the Guru thought of opening his own tattoo studio in Lusaka and most of the clients were his friends from school. He works alone in the studio and sometimes teaches those that are interested in learning how to make tattoos. He said it was hard for his family and friends to accept and embrace his work but with time they understood how much he was attached to his designs and the overwhelming response he got from customers. With people from all walks of life queuing up to receive a tattoo
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THE GLOBAL ZAMBIAN
June/July 2013