Tattoos and Blockchain
In the realm where art and skin intertwine and the canvas is a living being, the first question is what has this got to do with blockchain?
Should the title not be “Exploring the Craft and Creativity of a Passionate Tattoo Artist.” Well, it might as well be because I’m definitely passionate about what I do but Blockchain has a big part to play in my story.
Who is Tikiroa?
I am a Traditional Tatau artist, originally from New Zealand, with both Maori and Dutch heritage. I am from the Ngāi Tahu tribe and was born on the South Island of New Zealand. I got into tattooing pretty late at 25 years old, after talking with my wife’s Thai family, who are also tattoo artists, and then with mine back in New Zealand. I decided that if I would get into tattooing, I must do it right! Fortunately, living in Thailand, I got to see the Thai Bamboo technique and I watched the Thai artists do their thing.
I returned home and tried it on my own leg first, and then started tattooing local bartenders and friends. In 2009 I opened Tiki Tattoo studio and started tattooing my first customers. In 2010, I won the Best Bamboo Artist award — at my first ever tattoo convention. I have won 48 awards and judged multiple conventions ever since.
The Artisan of Living Canvases
Like any other form of art, we get to let our creativity flow. But a big difference in designing a tattoo is it’s on a living being and it involves delving into the depths of personal stories: tattoos are a conduit for self-expression.
The fusion of ink and skin becomes a living, breathing representation of an individual’s identity. More permanent to that person than anything else. I strive to create tattoos that serve as mirrors, reflecting the essence of my clients. It is expected that I become a visual storyteller that tells the story of my customer.
Every client that walks through the studio doors carries a unique story, and is in a chapter of their life they wish to immortalize.
As a tattoo artist my role goes beyond technical skill alone. Therefore, personally, I will not tattoo someone if it does not feel right, or if we don’t ‘get along.’
It is said in the Polynesian culture that Tatau was given to man by the gods and that a tattoo artist is only a tool to apply the art. I often have deep conversations with customers, and often we become friends, or, a Tattoo Family, so to speak. I prefer this over some of the modern studios with zero conversation, where you wear your headphones and the artist wear their headphones and you don’t even know each other’s name.
A tattoo to me is something special. Something that should hold a certain memory of a time and place in your life. If I’m part of that, I want to listen to the story and hear about you as a human and be in the present.
There are thousands of tattoo studios around and if someone chooses your place for their tattoo, the least you can do is to show respect and take time to listen to what they want and why, so that you can give 100% every time.
Analog and Digital: Bridging Two Worlds
But what has this to do with Blockchain and what is my role trying to be a bridge between the analogue and digital realms?
Well, imagine being able to look back on the blockchain and see the time, the place, the artist and the location of a certain tattoo. You could see who started a certain style first, or who was the first person to buy a tattoo through the form of an NFT (unique token) from an artist you like. Finally, who is the original owner/designer of said tattoo? As tattoos often get copied.
These are some of the things that are made possible through blockchain technology. Once info has been put on the chain it is there forever and non-changeable. Of course, in some cases the meta data of an NFT can be updated, but the initial transaction not.
In a time where every tattoo artist deals with customers showing them designs they found on Pinterest or search engines, can we create a way that artists can get paid royalties for their work?
Artist will not want to tattoo a stolen design, especially as it will be noticeable on-chain. The logic would be that as an artist, you don’t like it when people use your designs without approval, and you therefore don’t want to risk being called out doing that yourself.
All these things seem like common sense when thinking about it, but unfortunately these issues are real right now, yet we could partially fix most with blockchain and NFT’s.
And how cool is it to be able to show your NFT, that proves your tattoo was done by a certain artist but not by one that copied an artwork from another artist. You would hold the original NFT minted by that artist!
This makes even more sense once we talk about hard to book / famous artists.
Imagine a Priority Pass NFT that can be bought and traded for earlier access to otherwise near impossible to book artists. Even this could be huge on the secondary market: You could buy a Tattoo, resell for more if the artist goes up in demand and make a profit.
Possibilities go beyond these examples and as time goes by, we will see more and more use cases.
Written by: Tikiroa
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