Wallflowers Mag is proud to present our new series, Passion | Vocation, where we trace the creative lives of people whose passions have not been diluted by their vocations, and for some even exist in perfect tandem with their vocations. In a world where money seems to be the driving force of humanity, passion is often cast aside as something one pursues in their spare time, or is only available as a livelihood for a fortunate few. As such, when we come across people who manage to combine their passions with their vocations, or pursue their passions with such intensity despite a seemingly contrasting vocation, it strikes a chord in our souls as we dream for such courage and, ultimately, passion, to chase such a path.
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Nathaniel Yeo
I'm a tattoo artist (in some circles I'm known as a tattoer) based in Singapore and working at Think Tattoo Studio at Far East Plaza. Tattooing, to me, is addictive and really fun and enriching, as there isn't a proverbial glass ceiling or any restrictive measures to this craft unlike, say, a watercolour artist, where you would be pretty much restricted to a certain style or vibe in terms of the stuff you create.
So where does your passion stem from?
Here's the shocker. I'm not an art student and I never learnt art back in school. As a matter of fact, I was trained in electrical engineering at Ngee Ann Poly. My love for drawing and subsequently tattooing stems from observing my brother when I was young.
To me, it's very surreal to be able to see my imagination come to life on the chosen medium, be it paper, skin or canvas. He taught me the joy of creating something simply from imagination, and the pleasures of seeing them materialise in front of me. It goes without saying that I realised this fact after I started drawing and seeing the end results for myself.
My brother is definitely my greatest inspiration and influence. Of course, there are also many others that inspire me as well. They are local graffiti artist Antz and the website ffffound.
Here's the shocker. I'm not an art student and I never learnt art back in school. As a matter of fact, I was trained in electrical engineering at Ngee Ann Poly. My love for drawing and subsequently tattooing stems from observing my brother when I was young.
To me, it's very surreal to be able to see my imagination come to life on the chosen medium, be it paper, skin or canvas. He taught me the joy of creating something simply from imagination, and the pleasures of seeing them materialise in front of me. It goes without saying that I realised this fact after I started drawing and seeing the end results for myself.
My brother is definitely my greatest inspiration and influence. Of course, there are also many others that inspire me as well. They are local graffiti artist Antz and the website ffffound.
What drew you into the tattoo artist industry? You mentioned that you're working as an apprentice under your brother at a shop now? Tell us more about it.
As I mentioned before, tattooing is the perfect amalgamation of sculpting and painting for me. It also evolves and develops a certain character as you age. What's not to love about a canvas that is alive and ever-changing!
The mindset and approach I’ve adopted regarding tattooing are influenced greatly by my brother who is also my mentor. As he always says to me, “To be able to etch something into someone that will essentially last forever is an honour.”
As an apprentice at the shop, I get to see both the artistic and technical aspect of the industry. There are so many things to learn this industry, with something new popping up every day and surprising me!
What's one thing about the tattoo industry that most people don't know about? Could you give us an interesting case or customer that you've encountered?
The most common thing would be that tattooing takes time and effort, so don't expect to get something intricate and colourful in say, one hour! Another interesting fact is that the pain level of tattooing itself doesn't depend on the amount of needle used, but rather is more dependent on the area inflicted.
I once had a customer come in in a hurry to get a tattoo done, and it turned out she was getting tattoos from cities that she had travelled to as a souvenir of sorts, kind of like a passport collection of immigration stamps. But she had to get it right before she flew back to her country which left me with nary enough time to do her "新加波” (Singapore) tattoo, and I had a grand total of fifteen minutes to finish it. It was very stressful situation but the smile on her face after I was finished with it made me glad that I could accommodate her unusual time frame for a tattoo!
Nathaniel at the International Tattoo Convention at Frankfurt, 2015
You mentioned before that you and your brother travel quite a lot for work. Tell us more about that.
My brother used to tour Europe frequently every year for a while, to the extent that he'd only spend four months in Singapore and the rest overseas attending conventions and guest spots at his friends’ studios. To date, we have covered Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Naples, Milan, Paris, Kaohsiung, Taipei, Hong Kong and London. We travel to some of these places every year now, usually from March to April or May.
Being a tattoer sounds incredible! Nat, tell us about your line of artwork that is available for browsing and purchasing on your Instagram. What inspires them, the themes you have and maybe even your choice of human bodies as the canvas?
I have a batch of sketches available for tattoo-ing right now. They may also be purchased as prints for decorations. Most of them are inspired by my everyday thought processes, and the specific style of artwork I am pursing as of now, which are the the New-Traditional and New-School styles of tattoos.
The New-Traditional style consists of piecing together random imagery to form one image, which is pretty fun and challenging for me. It can also originate from some classic traditional tattoo you typically see on sailors but illustrated with more details and brighter colours.
The New-School style consists of a cartoon-style of drawing with dynamic angles, such that you can sort of see movement in the drawing itself! Not to mention the mandatory vibrant colours and stark contrast, of course. You can be sure I'm constantly evolving my style of drawing to further create a unique style.
As of now I'm doing a series on yokai which are Japanese demons but it's not all gnarly and demonic. Some of them are in fact your everyday items like an umbrella or lamp! I'm drawing a series of 99 of them from my perspective on them. Most of these tattoos you see on my Instagram page are available for tattooing, and the price ranges from SGD150 to 250. This is a promotion of sorts I'm offering at the moment to fill up my portfolio with as much of my work as possible.
The New-Traditional style consists of piecing together random imagery to form one image, which is pretty fun and challenging for me. It can also originate from some classic traditional tattoo you typically see on sailors but illustrated with more details and brighter colours.
The New-School style consists of a cartoon-style of drawing with dynamic angles, such that you can sort of see movement in the drawing itself! Not to mention the mandatory vibrant colours and stark contrast, of course. You can be sure I'm constantly evolving my style of drawing to further create a unique style.
As of now I'm doing a series on yokai which are Japanese demons but it's not all gnarly and demonic. Some of them are in fact your everyday items like an umbrella or lamp! I'm drawing a series of 99 of them from my perspective on them. Most of these tattoos you see on my Instagram page are available for tattooing, and the price ranges from SGD150 to 250. This is a promotion of sorts I'm offering at the moment to fill up my portfolio with as much of my work as possible.
I wish to see the art scene in Singapore grow bigger than it is! I also hope that people will be more acclimatised to tattooing being a form of art, a personal and private way to showcase one's personality or life using their bodies.
And finally, what would you like to say to those who have questions about chasing their passion and their choice of vocation?
And finally, what would you like to say to those who have questions about chasing their passion and their choice of vocation?
I'd say go for it! Learn all you can from the basics up and derive your own take on it! Make everything you do a fun process; this way things don't get boring and bland down the road and it makes each and every day an interesting one. After all, it's your passion!
Check out Nathaniel's work here.
