SACRED SKIN
ONLINE EVENT CO-HOSTED BY NEVER APART
MAY 2020
Tattoo culture has been influenced by Indigenous symbols and art from around the world, through many people are oblivious to the origins of the images etched on their skin.
There is a new wave of tattoo artists that are changing that, by embracing their roots, emphasizing the importance of traditional techniques and honouring the practices of their communities. Moderated by Syd Beaumont and Keesha Chung, this discussion invited Inuit tattoo artist Jana Angulalik and Filipina multidisciplinary artist Ilona Fiddy to talk about their work, and how their gender, heritage and history informs their art.
Visit our Eventbrite page to learn more and watch the conversation above!
THANK YOU!
On behalf of Keesha Chung, Mouna Traoré, Collective Culture, and Never Apart MTL, we want to thank everyone that attended, donated, and supported Sacred Skin! We were able to raise $357.32 for Primary Colours/Couleurs Primaires! We could not have done it without you!
ABOUT THE PANELISTS
Ilona Fiddy: Focusing on tattoo in the last 6 years, and with a decade of experience in multidisciplinary art & design, Ilona's past work has explored themes of identity, isolation & strength in community, of othering and perpetual occupation of liminal spaces. The main focus of her tattoo practice is investigation and reclamation of Filipino tattooing traditions, to approach and promote handpoked tattoo from a decolonized perspective. The rest is playful, rooted in pop culture, nostalgia, sex, rage, anime, r&b, and so on. Her work likes to consider what is sacred, to oneself and to another. Tattoos by hand is not a trend, it is an ancient and loving act, a conduit of ancestry and personal narrative.
Jana Kadlugak Angulali: Daughter of Aopak Angulalik and Rob Lindblad, is an Inuit tattoo artist from Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut. She has been practicing hand poking and skin sticking since December 2017. She was taught these traditional tattoo methods under the careful supervision of four Inuit Tattoo Artists during the Cambridge Bay portion of the Inuit Tattoo Revitalization Project. She is also currently enrolled in the Social Service Worker Program at Nunavut Arctic College. Her research course is based on the healing aspects of traditional Inuit tattooing. As an intergenerational Residential School Trauma Survivor, Jana feels that being able to heal and thrive with her fellow Inuit community by giving and receiving traditional markings is one of her greatest honours. Being able to reclaim this ancient practice has been incredibly monumental and a huge part of what shapes her life.