The sparkling white walls of the room are covered in sketches of all kinds of illustrations. The room is crowded. Katyte and Gypsy are busy preparing inks, hectograph paper, and the needles they will use to draw a permanent image on the skin of their eager clients. Nemesis, meanwhile, rushes from one side of the room to the other, offering tea, water, and sweets to their clients.
When everything is ready, Katyte calls her client and they talk about the design of the prospective tattoo. The tattoo artist skillfully draws the face of the axolotl that will live permanently in the calf of the woman. This is also the moment when Katyte explains in detail the tattooing process to her client, and shows her the needle she is about to use is new. The client exposes her calf and lays down on a cot.
The tattoo parlor Tinta y Sangre (Blood & Ink) opened in 2014 and has been a source of employment for several female tattoo artists. Since last year, it can be found in 2 Donceles street , in the Historic Downtown of Mexico City .
It's the first tattoo studio with an all-female staff, according to its founder. Currently, there are eight tattoo artists in the team and they have more clients now that they have relocated.
Némesis
, 30, is the founder and executive manager. She began to tattoo “professionally” four years ago, after a long and harsh road to become a self-taught tattoo artist.
Yet she began to spot several practices in the tattoo scene she disagreed with. For instance, she saw many a time a lack of connection between clients and tattoo artists who struggled to agree on a design. Moreover, she claims there are some tattoo artists who treat customers just like a blank canvas they paint on, without caring about giving their work a real meaning.
“We provide a service, yes, but we shouldn't lose contact with the other person,” says Nemesis, for whom the tattooist-client relation is important.
She also noticed there was gender inequality in the business, as most tattoo artists were male and there wasn't much room for women to develop their skills.
Thus, she decided to open her own studio. And although the other artists working here confess peaceful coexistence is difficult at times, they know they are there for each other at the end of the day – they don't hesitate to help each other if the need arises.
“Sadly, the opportunities women have in the tattoo scene are more complicated because it's still a field, like many others, which has been dominated by men despite it has opened tremendously as of late,” claims Nemesis.
And statistics support her claim. According to data from the Ministry of Health , out of the 521 tattoo artists who applied for a license between 2016 and 2017, 368 were men and 153 women. Although the figure is by no means low, the gap between both genders is considerable.
On why people always associate tattooists with the male gender, Nemesis says the idea has its roots in the cultural link with prisons.
“[Tattooing] was heavily related to acts disapproved by society and the ones who usually committed such acts, or were punished for them, were men.”
(Kayte working - Photo: Berenice Fregoso/EL UNIVERSAL )
Opening up opportunities
Nemesis recounts that opening her studio was an uphill battle because she found it hard to finance her project but in 2014 she managed to open her first studio in the eastern part of the city. As she became more successful, she relocated to the Historic Downtown, where it's easier for people to get to know her work.
One of the reasons Nemesis believes she's been successful is because she focuses more on skills and talent .
“We create a permanent workspace for promising female tattoo artists, where art and creativity mix with quality and skills; a place where we believe and fight for equality ,” she says, echoing the phrase they use to promote their studio in their social networks.
Katyte, for instance, got a job at Tinta y Sangre after she saw they were recruiting on social networks and remembers it caught her attention because no prior experience was required for the position. So she applied and when Nemesis told her about the project and her vision, Katyte was full on board.
Nemesis explains that very talented people often find themselves restricted by the experience requirement, not only in this field but in others as well.
Moreover, in pro of equality, Nemesis says they're not trying to dismiss the other gender. “I read a comment once, saying it mattered little if the tattooist was male or female, that what mattered was the end result, just as we tattoo men and women.”
The studio also encourages the professional development of tattoo artists by training them. Currently, they have four assistants, some of whom have tattooed clients under the supervision of the more experienced members.
Nemesis hopes her proposal motivates more people to develop their own projects.
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