SYMBOLISM IN TATTOO ART
SYMBOLISM IS NOT MERELY THE APPARENT VISION OF A DRAWING OR A SHAPE.
IT IS THE IMAGE THAT SHAPE EVOKES, THE EMOTIONS IT AWAKENS, AND THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERWOVEN LINES, POINTS, AND CURVES THAT BELONG TO THE SYMBOL ITSELF.
THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF NORTHERN EUROPE IS THE RESULT OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF HUMAN EXPRESSION — FROM THE SPIRAL CARVINGS OF THE MEGALITHIC AGE, TO THE SOLAR SYMBOLS OF THE BRONZE AGE, TO THE INTRICATE KNOTWORK OF CELTIC CULTURE AND THE POWERFUL IMAGERY OF THE NORSE WORLD.
GETTING TATTOOED IS ALREADY, IN ITSELF, A DECLARATION. TO TATTOO A SYMBOL ON ONE’S SKIN MEANS ENTERING A MORE INTIMATE DIMENSION OF CONNECTION. RATHER THAN FOLLOWING TRENDS, I WANTED TO CREATE A “PLACE” WHERE THE CLIENTS AND THEIR STORIES ARE TRULY AT THE CENTER.
EACH TATTOO I CREATE IS INTENTIONALLY UNIQUE, JUST LIKE THE PERSON WHO WEARS IT.
THROUGH SYMBOLS WE LEARN TO RECOGNIZE THE FORMS THAT SHAPE OUR DAYS, THE ENERGIES THAT MOVE THROUGH OUR LIVES, AND THE SUBTLE RHYTHMS THAT GOVERN THE WORLD AROUND US. IN DOING SO, WE BUILD A BRIDGE — OR WEAVE A THIN THREAD — BETWEEN OURSELVES AND THE PULSING ENERGIES OF THE UNIVERSE.
ACROSS SCANDINAVIA, THE BRITISH ISLES AND NORTHERN EUROPE, ANCIENT PEOPLES LEFT BEHIND A VAST SYMBOLIC HERITAGE CARVED INTO STONE, METAL AND WOOD.
SPIRALS, SUN WHEELS, SERPENTS, KNOT PATTERNS AND ANIMAL FORMS CARRIED MEANINGS CONNECTED TO CYCLES OF LIFE AND DEATH, PROTECTION, TRANSFORMATION AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMANS AND THE UNIVERSE.
TATTOOING IS NOT JUST DECORATION — IT’S RESPECT FOR THE PERSONAL HISTORY.
MY WORK IS TO LISTEN, TO INTERPRET, AND TO TRANSLATE INTO SYMBOLIC FORM WHAT A PERSON WISHES TO EXPRESS—BOTH WITHIN THEMSELVES AND IN THE WAY THEY CHOOSE TO PRESENT IT TO THE WORLD.
I ALSO OFFER A CONSULTANCY SERVICE FOR THE STUDIOS I COLLABORATE WITH, ESPECIALLY THOSE BASED OUTSIDE THE NETHERLANDS.
WHEN IT COMES TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT A PERSON TRULY WISHES TO CARRY ON THEIR BODY, I AM OFTEN ASKED TO CREATE A SPECIFIC IMAGE OR CONCEPT, CAREFULLY DESIGNED AND FULLY PERSONALIZED.