Behind the Needle 3 – part 4 of the London Tattoo Convention series with Papercut Pictures and Zeitgeist

This is part of the exclusive Tattoo film series I filmed with Papercut Pictures for Zeitgeist magazine

“Tattooing has become a victim of its own popularity” Zele

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/35528885 w=500&h=281]

Behind the Needle 3  features three more notable tattoo artists. Ninoslav Zelenovic aka Zele from Zagreb Tattoo, Jason Donahue from Idle Hand and Alex Binnie from IntoYou London/Brighton talk about the past, present and future of the tattoo world. Has it really become a victim of its own popularity in this Facebook-obsessed world?

Zele
Zele

Zele used to be a military man, and this is reflected in his love of historical, ethnic and traditional styles of tattooing. His tattoos reflect his value system and past. In this film he also talks about the negative impact of the growing popularity of tattoos and how this affects those who have been in the business for a long time.

Jason Donahue
Jason Donahue

 

Jason Donahue has always been into art, and as soon as he got his first tattoo he realised he’d found something he really wanted to do. His influences come from the past, his strongest being American traditional and Japanese. He also talks about the explosive nature of the tattoo industry now and the fact the he is his own biggest critic, constantly seeking tattoo perfection.

 

Alex Binnie
Alex Binnie

Tattooing was a very ‘closed’ world when Alex Binnie started out, and not at all fashionable. He tells us about his varied style and how the industry has changed since he has been a part of it. He talks about tattooing as a beautiful contract between the tattooer and the person being tattooed that avoids the constraints of the gallery system.

Watch the other films in the series: the London Tattoo Convention 2011, Behind the Needle and Behind the Needle 2.

Word by Alice Th’ink as featured on Zeitgeist
Behind the Needle 3 from Papercut Pictures on Vimeo.

Behind the Needle 2: Part three of the London Tattoo Convention series

“I don’t know if I really felt inspired, in as much as I kind of fell into it” Ryan Mason, Scapegoat Tattoo, Portland

This is part of the London Tattoo Convention series I filmed with Papercut Pictures for Zeitgeist magazine

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/32497637 w=530&h=299]

 

Behind the Needle 1 explored the motivations and inspirations behind four renowned artists’ work, Behind the Needle 2 features four more of my favourites. Ryan Mason (Scapegoat Tattoo, Portland), Jo Harrison (Modern Body Art, Birmingham), Steve Vinall (The Family Business, London) and Brian Thomas Wilson (Scapegoat Tattoo, Portland).

Ryan tells me how he needed to find something to do with his life, that wasn’t a shitty job after dropping out of art school, and what’s it’s like tattooing in Portland.

Jo Harrison
Jo Harrison

Jo talks about punks, rockers and what it’s like being in the tattoo world as a woman. She was actually pregnant at the time of filming and has since given birth to a beautiful baby girl called Marley.

Since Steve has been able to hold a pencil all he has really done is draw, he sees tattooing as one of the strongest and most permanent ways to put your imagery into the world.

Steve Vinall
Steve Vinall

Brian tells me how he got lucky by being offered an apprenticeship and was ‘pretty bad’ for a long time. Now he loves the symbolism of fairy tales in his tattoos. (I think in this part of the film you may be able to hear my stupid laugh in the background!)

He works with Ryan at Scapegoat, and as you can see from the film, they really love each other, ahh. (I LOVE you guys)

Ryan and Brian
Ryan and Brian

Words by Alice Th’ink as seen on Zeitgeist.
Photos by Papercut Pictures