A conversation with Jay Rose, new interviews every Monday.

How would you describe your style of tattooing?

I don't know how to describe my tattooing style. But I have heard and read that people describe it often as simplistic, contemporary, illustrative, and some people think it is childlike. :D

When we met in 2017 there weren’t too many people doing this simplistic illustrative style of tattooing to your degree. Your little boxes with figures heads inside them and chairs are what I distinctly remember! Even then you were mainly tattooing from flash, has this always been the way you’ve worked?

Can't believe it has already been three years! You are right that there weren't many other artists who tattooed the little boxes. I was an Animation student at university at that time. The boxed tattoos started with me bringing my storyboarding homework to a tattoo flash day. I have done customized tattoos for people, but mostly I tattoo my flash.   

It’s clear you have a strong love for contemporary art, even doing performance art pieces alongside tattooing. Your series ‘line’ shows you connecting yourself to various scenes and also your partner. Where did the idea for the continuous project come from? Do you feel this will continue to be an ongoing sequence?

I did the first "line" series on a beach in Santorini, Greece. I was chilling on the beach and I wanted to do something fun. I had a pen and a camera.   I posted a video on my Instagram page of me doing the line. Lots of people liked it, so I started posting more of this kind of video. I like doing it and I hope people will continue to enjoy watching it.

Do you feel you will do performative tattooing? Or do you see all tattooing as performative? 

I don't know how to answer this one. I am going to learn more about the definition of "performative". From my current understanding of the word "performative", I think the answer is Yes to both questions. :)

You also used to create a lot of video works and 3D animation, is this something you still do? I find it so interesting that this form of your art is so far removed from the simplistic line illustrations your tattoo before you tattooed was animation a direction you saw yourself going down?

At university, I majored in 2D animation. But I took a few 3D Animation classes of curiosity. Creating animations is fun, but it is extremely time-consuming, and usually, it is teamwork.  So I haven't done any animation work for w while.  Before I started tattooing, I was exploring different art mediums. I studied Fine Art, Film, and Animation. I didn't have a clear path and I was open to trying new things which is how I met tattooing. 

Which artists do you feel have had the most influence on you and the direction your work has taken? Be that tattooers or painters etc 

I can't name one artist who inspired me the most as there is a lot of contemporary artists who have influenced me in many different ways. I studied art in school for many years and studied artists that are in the textbooks and galleries. Now, I am more interested to learn from and get inspired by people I interact with in everyday life such as my colleagues and my clients. 

Did you go to school for fine art? Do you have a degree related or unrelated to your field?

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree.  And I am slowly working towards getting my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. It has been many years and I am not in a rush of getting the degree. 

What drew you into tattooing?

Compared to painting or making animations that can be done by myself alone in a studio, tattooing requires me to physically work with my clients/collectors.  I really enjoy having genuine interactions with my collectors. 

What direction do you see contemporary tattooing going into as it evolves? How do you see your own work evolving?

I think the tattoo culture is getting more diversified in techniques and styles from both artists and collectors. I enjoy seeing and learning new ways of tattooing. I hope I can keep developing new techniques and new understandings of this art form.