EXSUMINATION

"Exsumination"

250gsm High Quality Silk finished poster

For the Slow Season exhibition, I wanted to present a feeling felt by tattooers during the winter period when we're unable to work.

I first thought of the Gashadokuro yokai, the vengeful spirits of people who have died from starvation. I’ve always loved the depiction from the Ukiyo-e triptych "Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre", with that massive skeleton looming out of the darkness.

For me, compositionally, this was the start.

I was talking the idea over with Lydia, and she pointed out how melodramatic it may seem—especially considering everything happening in the world right now. For me to insinuate that tattooers are “starving to death” is pretty ridiculous. This however, ended up inspiring the direction for the rest of the painting.

For a lot of tattooers, tattooing is a holistic lifestyle. There are so many routines and rituals surrounding it that when they’re taken away, it affects everything.
It’s not just about what you’re doing when you’re physically tattooing; it’s about the talks with your clients and colleagues that day, the markers of time when you head to the shop, perusing the tools, reading up at home about them, smiling at colours, absorbing the art in the shop and at home, being comfortable in a creative space, your safe space, the endless books, endless materials, late-night drawing, early-morning drawing, trying to be better and better—the persistence goes on and on. It is all-consuming. It is ridiculous.

So I thought: to highlight the ridiculousness of tattooing and what that means to me, I’m going to stuff the rest of this painting with as much positivity, colour, and life as I can—with so much physical and emotional nourishment it’s almost claustrophobic.

Starting with the food: these are all winter vegetables bursting with nutrients and flavour. They’re already well on their way to becoming a stew, as can be seen to the right as it cooks away—even with too much heat, as we can see from the fire below and the bellowing, flavourful steam above.

This leads us to the flowers. In traditional Japanese art, the cherry blossom is a symbol of new life because of its association with spring, but these are plum blossoms and they bloom in winter. The symbolism still carries for me, as I was born in winter—hence the gifted Kokeshi doll and the tree adorned with origami, folded wishes, and even a painting of my zodiac: TIGER!

After this comes the festivities: lanterns to light the streets for parties and for people to come together; shide to mark the start of purification and sacred areas. These are talismans of love, community, and a spiritual place of peace.

But the spectre is unable to absorb any of it. Consumed by an insidious hunger for the one thing it cannot do, it gushes Sumi—fumbling the very painting it’s trapped in. In some areas, the Sumi even forms literal prison bars, echoing the rain in "Night Rain at Narumi" by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Surrounded by all this love.

Surrounded by all this life.

It wastes away.

"Exsumination". Death by the loss of ink.