I’ve been exchanging emails with Bugsy for quite sometime now, not only about doing an interview for This Life, but also to get the low down on his book, Done With Electricity. I recently picked up a copy and damn! – The thing hasn’t even made it from the coffee table to the bookshelf yet! Packed full of 60 odd of the best tattooers from Australia and New Zealand, it certainly doesn’t disappoint . If you’re interested in scoring yourself a copy you can buy it here or at selected book stores and tattoo shops around Australia.
Bugsy tattoos at Fox Body Art, 44 Smith St, Collingwood (Melbourne)
Firstly, thank you for your time, what’s been happening?
I’ve just been working pretty busy after coming back from eastern Europe. And keeping the book stocked in shops takes up a fair bit of time.
For those who are unfamiliar with you and what you do, can you tell us a bit about yourself and walk us through a day in your life?
I wake up at 9 am, go to work and tattoo normally 3 to 5 clients a day, work on drawings or paintings and email people. When I get home I cook then watch a movie and hang with my fiance, Mima and our dog Philly. I like to read a lot too.
What initially got you involved in art, and how did that lead you in to becoming a tattooist?
My parents encouraged me into art from a young age. I did a few art courses in primary school, I always tried to draw whenever I could and when people around me started to get tattoos the direction of my sketches/paintings moved towards a tattoo style with the ultimate goal of actually beggining to tattoo.
Favourite medium to work with apart from tattooing and why?
Water colour ’cause it goes hand in hand with tattooing and especially traditional tattooing.
Who taught you to tattoo, and how have they had any effect on your style today?
The guy who taught me is Ash. I learnt off him while he owned Voodoo Ink in St. Kilda, almost ten years ago. He was huge influence on me, because of him I can tattoo.
I hear you’re a bit of a Wu-Tang fan, do you think the music you listen to influences your art and tattooing?What or who are your biggest artistic influences away from music?
I love music I think anything done well can influence your own work. If I see a really great band or film it makes me want to do better at what I do. But books are without a doubt the biggest influence to me, Danish tattooing and We are tattoo are my favourites and were the reason I wanted to make a book and their content pushed me in my tattooing.
You’ve done a fair bit of travelling and tattooing, in your eyes how does the Australian Tattoo scene shape up to that of rest of the world?
Its pretty much the same, just the names are different, I like loads of tattooers here and I love many over seas its a small world and plane trip ( or two ) makes it pretty easy to hang out if you really want to.
And on that note, who do you think is really pushing the envelope so to speak with tattooing? Both here in Australia and Overseas?
Ed Hardy did the most, everyone after just tries to emulate him when it comes to being a tattooer and painting or making books and things like that. But I like Chad Koeplinger, John Entwistle and Thomas Hooper they have all given way more to tattooing than they have taken.
I guess you could say Tattoo’s have become accepted in today’s society, possibly even expected, obviously there being more people for you to tattoo is a good thing, but do you think there is a downside to it?
It’s harder at borders and customs but I think its still the same, there are only still a few shops and a few artists in every city that are really good and that was probably the same in the past.
How do you think certain “reality” tattoo shows on TV have affected tattooing on a broad scale?
We probably all should pay tax now!
Alright, lets talk about your book, Done With Electricity. For those who are unfamiliar with DWE, wanna give them the run down?
I wanted to make a book on tattooing for a long time and for the first book I wanted to do something that I knew and was close to me. I to do a coffee table style book about my favourite tattooers in Australia and new Zealand.
You feature some amazing artists in DWE, how hard was it to cull the list down to the final 64?
It was, I asked as many people as i could think of that Iliked their work or were really doing their thing well. I tried to keep it for people who had been tattooing over 3 years just cause a book is somewhat permanent and in the first few years 6 months later can mean a huge change in your work. Also it is pretty much the first book of its kind for Australia and I want to put the best collection of tattooers I could at this point of time together to show.
You mentioned that you have another book in the mix, what can you tell us about that?
It will be way bigger, take longer and have more in it from all over the world.
What are five things that you always pack with you on your travels?
passport, money, clothes, and no sharp or flamable items.
No doubt you have seen some pretty fucked tattoo’s in your time, what is the worst tattoo you’ve ever seen?
Its more the people, junkies all over the world or young men in America totally fucked up by war, jumping at gun shot samples in rap songs and crying. As for tattoos most people want it to look good they might have a few back yard tattoos but even they have a certain charm.
We spoke briefly about the resurgence of Traditional Tattoos and their popularity, what are your thoughts on it?
All tattoos are popular everyone has a fish or a rose or some script, as for traditional it’s not that popular, most people want way more colours and different outline thickness and textures. Classic stuff is getting more popular her in Australia as it is in London for example, but people still want their tattoos to be a bit more new school.
What was your first tattoo, and who did it?
A Kanji, and the tattooer that did it claims to have only been tattooing for 5 years but they did it on me a year before I even started my apprenticeship.
What inspires you to create?
Old tattooers and people I read about in books that do the things that most people are too lazy to do.
What’s in your pockets right now?
$100
What have you been reading, listening to and watching lately?
Reading – The brothers Karamazov, Butterflies in straight jackets, On the road, Ham on rye, The picture of Dorian Gray, Darma bums and Junky.
Tattoos – Danish tattooing, John Entwistle Tattoo Atist Melbourne, These blue arms,
Films – Time of the gypsies, Underground, Terminator, Control, Easy rider, Into the wild and Ex drummer.
We live in turbulent times, what are your views on the world and society today?
It’s hard to say the world still seems great to me, but i’m sure there are way more people in the world who have it really bad. I think we need to look after the environment but really it’s not going to happen so that makes me sad. But i’m lucky and i’m very greatful of that.
Advice to up and coming artists/tattooists?
Get of Facebook and Myspace or your blog and actually paint way more and tattoo a bit less at first…. Or actually just paint everyday, it helps I did it and all the people I look up to did it. And get tattooed, not just your hands and neck but all over, by good tattooers and you will learn that way too.
Word association, you know the deal, say whatever comes to your mind when you read the word.
Australia – Cold at the moment
Julia Gillard – On tv all the time
America – Paper money
Obama – Black
England – Pounds
The Queen – Pounds
Tattoo – Cream
Religion – Jesus
Time – Machine
Greed – Pink Floyd
Humanity – Earth
Peace – Sign
Freedom- Southern states of America
Art – School
Life – line
Happiness …
Bugsy Says:
… Said enough already. Thanks to everyone i work with x
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