Everything: A Photo Series Capturing the queer Tattoo Scene in Montreal

The remnants of a project I began last March depicting DIY tattoo artists in Montreal, Canada. Spending time with nine artists in their studios – sometimes shared with other artists, other times in their own homes – I documented their process, their space, and their connection to the art form.

The mere act of getting a tattoo is to wholeheartedly commit to a divergence of the norm – we cannot talk about tattooing without acknowledging the polarizing reaction to art on the body. Traditional tattooing remains a hierarchical and masculine system, yet the rising popularity of DIY artists has allowed for the feminization of the practice as it has been adopted by queer people around the world. Its unconventionality inherently intersects; body modification, akin to queerness, counteracts the expectation for the human vessel to remain pristine and holy.

Titled “Everything”, this series represents my admiration of the people who devote their lives to art making, the community created around needles and ink, and the trust cultivated between strangers. The nature of tattooing can create a connection with another person who you may never see again but your body will hold a part of them forever. 

An exploration of drawing on the body, the marriage to an image, and the pain endured to create it – I like to think of each tattoo as a physical representation of a memory carved into the skin. This is Everything. Thank you to the participating artists for their trust.

Instagram: @chllotographs—Book coming soon :)