We’re obsessed with the work of tattoo artist Poesis. She’s based in Hamburg, and is a resident artist at HOOD7. The tattoos she creates are magical, with an otherworldliness about them, sometimes you’re not quite sure exactly what you’re looking at – doors that open to other doors, bookcases with birds poking their head out… each of the tattoos Poesis creates is born from an emotion – and you can feel that in each one-of-a-kind tattoo. We caught up with the tattoo artist to find out more about her weird and beautiful work…
Poesis / @poesis_tattoo Poesis / from her video art project ’The Simultaneousness of Blooming & Withering’
Do you have a first memory of tattoos? What made you fall in love with them?
This is actually quite funny, my first memory of tattoos is having a crush on this fully tattooed musician. He was covered head to toe and I thought it was the coolest thing. That’s the first time I fell in love with the aesthetic.
During my teenage years, I used to hang around alternative kids. A friend asked me to draw a tattoo design for him, that’s when I first encountered the connection between tattoos and the art world I was so interested in.
The real moment though – the one that got me completely hooked – was when colourful micro realism tattoos started developing a few years ago. The incredible precision of details, the colours, the strong references to the art I grew up with. It captivated my heart.
It’s really interesting how moments in our life, that maybe seemed insignificant, become turning points on our journey. We’re always subconsciously moving towards where we’ll eventually end up.
When did you know you wanted to become a tattoo artist? How did you learn?
I’d just got my second tattoo from Kozo, it was ‘The Old Guitarist’ by Pablo Picasso. While admiring my new tattoo and searching for the right artistic medium to dive into, I realised that tattooing is the perfect way to express all my strengths, do the things I love and live a comfortable life. It’s like all the puzzle pieces came together.
Later on, I had the opportunity to learn from Kozo himself. After spending a month by his side, we parted ways and I kept learning on my own, developing the technique, process and designs you see today.
We love your style so much, how did that evolve? Where do your ideas come from and what inspires you?
Thank you! The main inspiration is always the emotions that lie underneath the surface, in their raw form. I focus a lot on the feelings I want to convey in the design. It’s all a matter of embracing who we are and allowing ourselves to be. In these moments, creativity gets the room it deserves, whatever spills out, I roll with it. My art is me and I’m my art. As I evolve as a person so does my art. As long as I let my creativity roam free my art will keep evolving.
Techniques always arrive with time, they stay in your muscle memory, slowly developing as you practice. Creativity, on the other hand, can come in a swing. We just need to learn to open that door in the way that suits each of us. Creativity is one of the most important assets and valuable tools to reflect our minds as artists. Nurture it, learn it, develop it, cherish it, keep it safe, love it.
Poesis / @poesis_tattoo / from ’The Simultaneousness of Blooming & Withering’
There’s some incredible photos of you on your Instagram, are they inspired by your work?
These photos are extensions of a bigger multi-medium project I produced and preformed in, called ’The Simultaneousness of Blooming & Withering’ [you can watch the video on Instagram]. It’s video art inspired by a flash design I made. Apart from the video art, the project holds the stills photos, flower art and the tattoo itself.
The idea for this project was born after being eager to extend my art to other mediums and to find another way to share what stands behind my tattoo designs. There was a search for self expression, for a way to show a side of Poesis that’s always strongly integrated into my art.
I collaborated with my friends, a photography duo (Ofek Avshalom and Rona Bar) and with a flower artist (Danielle Barkat), together we executed the concept based on the design and what stood behind it. ‘The Simultaneousness of Blooming & Withering’ was featured in Vogue, printed in Iconic Artist Magazine and TattooLife Magazine. This project makes me very proud.
Where do you come up with the motifs that you include in your work? From art, life, customer’s ideas? How do you know what you’d like to mix together in that unique surreal way?
The inspiration for the motifs I choose is all around, if we open our eyes and mind we can see it in the smallest to the biggest of things, but mainly, it’s within ourselves.
Naturally being attracted to surrealism, dark aesthetics, the unconventional, the dreamy and bizarre, I subconsciously find myself creating symbolism around these worlds.
Before each tattoo I meet with my clients and I listen to them. Whatever they feel like bringing up, I welcome with open arms. Through that process, a brainstorm will start to appear, motifs that connect directly and indirectly will float to the consciousness. When creating a design I usually start with this intuitive approach – scrambling around, channeling into a sketch whatever comes to mind.
Sometimes I don’t know exactly what I’m going for, I just continue focusing on the emotion and experiences we choose to convey, until the sketch forms into a solid image I’m satisfied with.
How do you like to work with customers and their ideas?
I’m always open to hear my client’s ideas, explore and work with whatever comes up. If my clients are being creative, I like to encourage it. Keeping our mind open to new ideas and concepts is crucial for our connection with our surroundings and ourselves.
With that being said, I rarely receive a request for a structured idea. My clients trust my artistic abilities and process to embody the emotions that were brought to the surface. Every piece I make is custom, my art holds two worlds that are coming together for a unique, one of a kind collaboration. In order to create such tattoos, to hold such a mix of precision and creativity, I require artistic freedom and flexibility. If the artist doesn’t have the freedom to create, the freedom of expression, what’s left of their artistry?
What’s next?
Keep focusing on evolving as a person and as an artist. I hope to expand my artistic universe by diving deeper into inner worlds and minds, finding new ways to embody the soul, develop my creativity and explore other mediums to share my art.
Follow Poesis on Instagram @poesis_tattoo. Her video art project is called ’The Simultaneousness of Blooming & Withering’
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