Walking on the streets of New Zealand, one would notice many passersby adorned with tattoos. Behind these inked designs lies a collection of vivid life stories.
As an immigrant nation, New Zealand boasts a diverse culture, with people from different countries and ethnicities coming here to live and transmit their respective cultures.
Today's protagonist is a tattoo artist from China, currently residing in New Zealand. She is skilled in traditional Chinese painting and the art of tattooing. Let's hear her story of being a tattoo artist in New Zealand.
Below is Trista's account:
Interviewee: Trista
Image Material Provider: Trista
Interviewer & Writer: Fangfang Ma
01 Nurtured in Art Since Childhood A Happy Childhood
I am Trista, born in 1991 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.
My parents both love art; my mother is a young artistic woman who plays the piano. Influenced by them, I attended an art kindergarten since childhood, where I was exposed to various activities such as piano, painting, and dance. Among all, painting was what I enjoyed the most.
When my parents encouraged me to pursue art, there wasn't much utilitarian pressure, so I didn't feel stressed. It was because of this relaxed educational approach that I genuinely and actively developed a love for and enjoyment of art.
I had a very happy childhood; my parents often took me traveling, and I grew up freely.
02 Meeting a Kiwi Boyfriend through Shared Interests Moving to New Zealand for Love
Many people are curious about why I came to New Zealand to become a tattoo artist. It's actually a love story behind it.
The reason I live in New Zealand is that my husband is a New Zealander. We met while I was in university.
At the age of 18, I was admitted to Hubei Institute of Fine Arts to study contemporary art.
At that time, I enjoyed going to VOX live house to listen to music and also loved vintage fashion, so I started working at Rotten Heart, a vintage clothing store below a live house in Wuhan.
During that time, I met many friends who were into music and art, including my current husband, Jesse.
Jesse's parents are New Zealanders, but they worked as teachers in several cities in China in their early years. Jesse was taken to China at a very young age, so he speaks Chinese fluently, and we have fewer cultural conflicts between us.
Later, his parents returned to New Zealand, but Jesse himself loved Chinese culture and atmosphere, so he stayed there to live and work.
Jesse is a musician; he worked as a DJ in a Wuhan club for five years. He was quite well-known in the Wuhan DJ circle at that time. After I became a tattoo artist, some customers even said, "Jesse's music has had a great influence on me," which touched me deeply.
03 Venturing into Entrepreneurship in College Becoming a "Black Sheep" Tattoo Artist
Regarding being a tattoo artist, I have always felt that it wasn't I who chose tattooing, but tattooing chose me.
In 2015, I was deeply impressed by the works of traditional tattoo artists at a tattoo art exhibition and became interested in learning tattooing. In the winter of 2015, I started learning tattooing under my first master, Master Adam.
In 2017, after working as a tattoo artist for a while, I went to Taiwan for further studies, and in 2019, I went to Hangzhou to continue my studies under Master Wencui.
In 2016, I opened my first tattoo studio, Black Sheep Ink, across from the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuchang, where you could see the tower from the window. I chose this name because of Gin Wigmore's "Black Sheep."
There's a verse in the song that goes like this: Everybody's doing it so why the hell should I That was how I felt when I started my business. It felt a bit unconventional, but it was something I passionately loved, and I have no regrets to this day.
When I first started learning tattooing, I would go to the nearby market to pick pig skins at the butcher's stall to practice tattooing. During that time, I couldn't even enjoy eating meat; the smell of pork would trigger a physiological response in me.
Because pig skin is the most similar texture to human skin, we had to select skins with small pores and tender texture. Many skins had knife cuts, were old, or had been stamped. I had already surpassed the mere experience of picking pig skins; I would go to a large bucket of pig skins before going to the shop every noon to find high-quality practice skins.
Then, I would disinfect and deodorize the pig skins at the studio, and after waiting for half an hour, the time for a cup of tea, I could start practicing.
In China, when you mention tattoos, many still associate them with rebellion, coolness, or even the underworld. In reality, tattooing is a form of artistic expression, using the body as a canvas. Tattooing on the body is akin to painting with ink on Chinese rice paper, with a peculiar connection between the two.
After graduating from college, I became more interested in Chinese traditional art, so during my master's degree, I switched to Chinese painting. Many of my classmates had been learning traditional Chinese painting since childhood, while I came into it later, so I felt a lot of pressure when I first started.
I remember in my first year of graduate school, I would often cry while painting in the studio because it was challenging to control the ink diffusion on the rice paper, and it was easy to make a mess. Learning was really tough at the beginning.
Chinese painting emphasizes basic skills a lot, and at first, I couldn't get anything right no matter how I held the brush. But I didn't want to give up; I told myself it was just a matter of time, and if I persisted in practicing, I could catch up. Techniques can always be learned; what's most challenging is understanding art and having internal concepts.
Academic growth greatly helped my tattoo creations. Since then, I have started creating some Chinese-style works.
During my postgraduate studies, my research focus was on Chinese opera characters, which was a very interesting topic. Visual arts in Chinese opera condensed traditional Chinese aesthetics; even a simple formulaic movement carries rich meanings.
At that time, I read a lot of books on traditional Chinese art, and the more I read, the more interesting I found it. Later, some teachers invited me to give lectures to students. After one class, many students asked to add me on WeChat. The teacher joked, "I've been teaching them for half a year, and no one has voluntarily added me."
Besides teaching opportunities in universities, I'm also invited to participate in some tattoo-related workshops and serve as a mentor on those workshops.
I also admire artists who combine Eastern and Western art. For example, Yo-Yo Ma; I was moved to tears when I watched the documentary of his album "Silk Road."
I really enjoy teaching because I enjoy sharing the joy of sharing. Recently, I have been preparing to share some videos online, sharing content related to traditional Chinese painting.
05 Diving into Learning Revisiting Old Crafts in a Foreign Land
When I first arrived in New Zealand, I couldn't work due to visa issues. I didn't waste this waiting time; instead, I enrolled in a pottery class to learn a new skill. Image New Zealand's community pottery classes aren't expensive, less than 10 New Zealand dollars per session. Later, I even bought my own equipment and practiced at home.
Once I gained the right to work, I returned to my old craft and began working at a tattoo shop in Hamilton.
Unlike tattoo shops in China, the work arrangements here are not as tight, allowing more time for contemplation and new creations. Image In Hamilton, where I worked, there were many Maori people around the studio.
Many of them have tattoos, with their own visual language. Different patterns have different meanings. Many people tattoo images of their families. Image Apart from differences in working hours, the clients coming for tattoos in New Zealand are different from those in China.
In China, most of the people getting tattoos are young, but here I often encounter elderly clients. I remember once a nearly ninety-year-old grandmother came to me for a tattoo. She loved sewing, so she tattooed a needle and thread with a heart on herself. She said she wanted to wear a bikini at the beach and show off her tattoo, which was really cute. Image Here, women have less age anxiety.
Regardless of age, everyone can showcase their beauty and proudly display what they love. Here, I don't feel any age anxiety either; I just focus on creating.
In 2021, my work was shortlisted in the American Women Artists competition.
In 2022, I also held a solo exhibition at Next Level Art Gallery in Hamilton.
Recently, many people have invited me to hold exhibitions, but I want to accumulate more works before doing so.
06 Continuing to Improve Using Tattoos to Transmit Chinese Culture in New Zealand
This year, I moved to Auckland and joined a new tattoo studio. There are many tourists here, and everyone wants tattoos with some New Zealand characteristics, such as silver ferns. Image As a Chinese tattoo artist, I want to create some tattoo designs that combine Chinese elements with New Zealand elements.
Actually, many aesthetics are universal. For example, New Zealanders like to be close to nature, just like us Chinese. Especially Chinese literati, who love to immerse themselves in the beauty of mountains and rivers.
Of course, when serving foreign clients, there are some small issues. For example, sometimes clients bring tattoo designs with Chinese poetry and ask for them to be tattooed in Japanese. I patiently explain to them that it's actually Chinese. Many foreigners can't distinguish between Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultures. They often don't do it on purpose but truly don't understand. So I take the initiative to explain to them and provide more convincing materials rather than second- or third-hand information from the internet. Being a tattoo artist abroad feels more like having a sense of mission. I want to use tattoos to spread our profound culture and showcase Chinese aesthetics to foreigners.
To do better, I'm constantly learning. Recently, I've been taking calligraphy classes, hoping to use calligraphy better in my creations. Image Image Recently, I plan to create a series based on New Zealand's Shan Hai Jing, using ink to depict New Zealand's flowers and birds. I've finished the first piece, themed "Fantail," and will continue creating more.
Looking back, from the first day I entered the painting class to now, I've been painting for about 20 years. From painting studios in Wuhan to tattoo studios in Auckland, the location has changed, but my pursuit of art remains unchanged. Actually, yesterday doesn't matter. What matters is tomorrow, what kind of future I want to create. To achieve that, today's actions are the starting point for change. So I want to live with heart, create with heart, step by step, and slowly realize my dreams.
Whether in China or New Zealand, I will be like my shop's name (Ink & Gold Tattoo), turning ink into gold, and painting a wonderful life.
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