Reasons for tattoos vary from person to person, whether it be personal, a mistake after one too many drinks, or simply because of the art. Society’s understanding and acceptance of tattoos has been a rollercoaster over the years, with it being perceived as artistic and beautiful one moment, to intimidating and rebellious the next. We can see that society’s opinions have changed over the years, with an increasing amount of young individuals getting tattoos more often; promoting the concept of diversity and individuality. Although the generation we are leading is seemingly so immersed in cultural representation, the severe lack of this in the tattooing industry retracts the idea that we’ve progressed in diversity. I’m here to discuss with 26-year-old London based tattoo artist Mel Moulash the urgency of POC in the tattoo industry as well as the significance of cultural tattoos. First, a little bit of historical context.
The history of tattoos is a long one, with earliest signs of tattoos traced to ancient mummies from the Otzal Alps to ancient Egypt. They weren’t your standard “Live, laugh, love” tattoos, but something with a profound significance. Tattoo placements had a slightly different purpose compared to now. Around 3500 years ago they were used as a form of acupuncture to treat diseases such as arthritis, whereas nowadays you won’t see “tattoo acupuncture” advertised too often. Instead, placements now are based on aesthetics and pain scale. There is one aspect however that hasn’t changed all too much. Tattoos in ancient civilisations always had a cultural meaning relating to one’s identity, whether it be symbols of beauty, current status, marks of distinction/punishment, or a mark to distinguish tribes. Although it isn’t typical to get a tattoo as a punishment in this day and age, tattoos are still a huge part of one’s identity and can avail in feeling more in touch with one’s cultural roots and boost originality.
Creativity is something that lives in every one of us. Sometimes it is encouraged to be expressed, other times suppressed. In the case of Mel Moulash, her artistry was encouraged by her mum as something to pursue, despite growing up in a relatively non-artsy area in East London. “If she hadn’t encouraged the artistic side of things, maybe I wouldn’t have embraced it so much!”
The tattoo industry can be an intimidating one to enter, due to the unnerving idea of leaving a permanent mark on another individual. For Mel, being a tattoo artist was never something she’d considered. “I just thought it would be too hard and never realised it was something I could do for myself.” Lockdown prompted Mel to explore her virtuosity and reflect on where she was in life. Knowing she wanted to do something creative in her career, matters moved fast as she started to search for apprenticeships after designing art and watching videos on tattooing. Pursuing a career in any industry can be daunting and anxiety inducing, which often leads to expecting negative outcomes. Mel encountered this obstacle during her job search “I was convinced that I was about to have the worst year of my life.”
There are various reasons people are disconcerted from pursuing their passions; and in Mel’s case it was the lack of diversity portrayed. “I thought I’d be in a shop making tea for intimidating people who were going to be racist and sexist to me because that’s the only experience with tattooing I’d ever seen.” Despite originality and diversity being the foundations of the tattoo industry, the industry is viewed by a common archetype – a white man covered head to toe in tattoos. Of course the appearance of tattoos will differ depending on the skin tone, but “we make the mistake of using white skin as the ultimate goal of how pigments should look.” Dark skin is beautiful and deserves to be tattooed with love and respect. Disgracefully, the myth that it’s harder to tattoo darker skin and get a good result has become “fact” to many artists, which wrongly gives way for them to turn away POC who desire a tattoo. My first thought when I learnt the shameful and foul reality of artists turning POC away was, “shouldn’t it be made compulsory to learn to tattoo darker skin tones?” After discussing with Mel, I was made aware that due to there being no grading system or course, there isn’t a way to make this happen. “It should definitely be something that is encouraged, it should be something we want for ourselves.”
“All inks will of course look different on different skin tones, and that’s a beautiful thing in itself!”
Mel’s heritage exudes to her approach in tattooing, as her trademark style consists of mostly sublimely beautiful dancing figures, as well as freehand abstract designs. Mel gathered inspiration for this style from a very personal place, making her work all the more connected and engaging. “I’ve always really loved art like this. I’ve personally grown up seeing similar styles of art around my family’s home. For me, the dancing figures really remind me of my nan and aunties.” Tattoos like these bond an individual with their cultural identity. For anyone of any skin tone and background, “having designs that remind you of home on your skin forever is a beautiful way to represent and celebrate yourself.” Furthermore, with the disdainful opinion that certain pigments will not have the expected outcome on darker skin tones, “tattooing these cultural designs on people who connect with them in similar ways is a nice way for BIPOC to claim something of their own in the tattooing world.”
“The forms I draw represent femininity, freedom, and expression. It hurts my heart when my clients say they’ve been told it isn’t possible to tattoo their skin tone with a good outcome. As a tattoo artist you should want to be able to tattoo everyone who wants and is able to get one.”
Mel’s trademark style is one of the few I truly admire. It’s part of an approach to tattooing that creates nostalgia and celebrates cultural backgrounds, as well as encouraging BIPOC to feel comfortable and welcome in the industry.
To see and book with Mel, follow her on Instagram @Mel.Moulash.
