The first time I saw Tuan’s work was at the 2017 Edmonton Tattoo & Art Festival. He was tattooing a grasshopper onto a woman’s lower back. It really was an amazing piece of realistic artwork and the end result was fantastic. Tuan was very focused on what he was doing and so it was his wife that I spoke to. But I could tell from this brief encounter that he was a kind person. And a kind person who was also a talented artist was exactly the combination I wanted in the person who would be the one to work on my first tattoo. Therefore, two weeks later, I popped by the Eternal Ink Tattoo Shop on Whyte Ave and made an appointment to meet with Tuan. Once again, I was impressed with his sincere friendliness.
AK Tuan Vo. 2017 Edmonton Tattoo & Art Festival
My interview with Tuan fell on a Wednesday which is also the day when Eternal Ink has their 2x2 tattoo for $75. Not only was I excited about getting my first tattoo, but also to have the opportunity to talk with Tuan Vo. When I announced to Tuan that he would be giving me my first tattoo he seemed very happy.
The Interview
How long have you been a tattoo artist?
Tuan:
I am a newcomer here. I am from Ho Chi Minh City, in Vietnam. I just moved to Canada around one and a half years ago. I just tattooed in Vietnam for three months. My experience with tattoos is just two years.
Before, I graduated from college in graphic design and worked one year for an anime studio. It was a small studio in Vietnam. It was a small company from Japan. I painted colour for the frame, every single frame. The anime is called Gurren Lagann. I remember I spent more than two or three weeks for painting more than two or three hundred pictures, and when I saw it, the finished product, it lasted about five seconds. (laughs) So fast … oh there’s my work ...and then it’s done. All that work and it goes by so fast.
I also worked for a three-dimensional video characters studio that was Japanese for one year. And then at Gameloft Vietnam, they make mobile games. That was for six years as Project Lead Artist position. I was a video game cartoon designer before I jumped to tattoo job. I designed some character for a video game.
I did a little bit of research on the history of tattoos in Vietnam. There was information saying that at one time the Vietnamese people were once called the Tattooed People. This was back in the Ly and Tran dynasties. They say that tattoos were mandatory of the government and the military. Then in time this completely changed to tattoos being taboo and not accepted. Could you tell me more about this?
Tuan:
I don’t know about this history. Some people have opened their minds to tattoos, but most people in Vietnam, they don’t like it because a long time ago they just know that tattoo were for the gangs or the bad guys. So until now, they keep thinking this way. When they see someone with tattoos on their body, they think, oh he’s a bad guy.
Have you heard of the milk tattoos or ever seen them?
Tuan:
Yes, I have seen this. My Master, he knows a lot about this and has done this. My Master is a young guy, just 37 years old, but he’s one of the first tattoo artists in the south Vietnam. He is well known there. He just tattoos. But a lot of people in south Asia they did this, the milk tattoo. It is the breast milk from the mother, her first born. It is invisible but when they drink beer or some alcohol, it will be visible and is white. It is cool, but, I’m not sure it is safe.
What was the first tattoo that you received?
Tuan:
I just have only one. (laughs) It has four symbols of my life. It is the sun, the dragon water, the eagle and the tree of life. Symbol of Aztec. The tree of life, life after death. Strength and creative. I chose these designs because I really like the symbols. The sun is the calendar of the Aztecs.
I got this tattoo two years ago. I had it done when I was an apprentice. My close friend who is a brother to me was also an apprentice and he gave this tattoo to me. I call him my brother, but he is a close friend. He did my tattoo in two sessions.
What was the first tattoo that you gave to someone else?
Tuan:
My first tattoo I did was for my friend's wife. It was just a snowflake. Just small. But I remember I spent one and a half hour, this took me a long time. It was small but there were many details, so I was really nervous. (laughs)
So when you came to Canada, was it your goal to become a tattoo artist?
Tuan:
When I moved here, to Edmonton, I could not find the job of video games, so I decided to do the tattoos again. At first, I’m looking at some job of the video game, but they don’t have, so I think I like tattoos, so my parents said, “you can try”. I decided that since I was an apprentice for three months before I came to Canada and I really liked it, I would try. You know, I like drawing every day, and it is one of my dreams to design some character of art that stays on the skin. (laughs) Like the angel and the demon, I did for one year, is like video game character design.
I like to just draw sometimes because it makes me feel less stress. For tattoos, I like to do animals or something that is natural or has a realistic style. I also like to do some fantasy, like dragon or fairy tale and has lots of detail. I really like to do detailed work that has tiny details.
So, here in Edmonton, I put some of my portfolios on Kijiji. There was a small and a large picture. After two months the owner of this shop, Eternal Ink, Walter, called me. He hadn’t opened this place up yet. I was his first tattoo artist here. When he found me, I was studying at the NorQuest college for English and I just worked part time for him. But after one month, I thought I had better work full time because then I would be able to learn English much faster than at school. (laughs) I am much better at reading and writing than I am at speaking and listening.
Looking at all the designs on the wall ... Are all these yours?
Tuan:
Yes, they are already tattoo design. It’s done. When I stencil, I keep the stencil and I put it on the wall, just like my collection. They stay original. I like doing custom designs, only one is unique, I like to do custom designs and not two of them, not a second one.
Here in North America, people use to think the same about tattoos just like the people of Vietnam. But because of artists like you who are bringing the true art form to the tattoo industry, people are changing their perspective about tattoos. Your generation of tattoo artists is breaking the stereotypes and new grounds for tattoos. How do you feel about that?
Tuan:
(smiles) Yes … I hope ...I will try.
End
Being that Tuan was still fairly new to the English language, there were moments when we did struggle to communicate some ideas fully, but honestly, those moments were few. When I first began the interview, I was keen on learning more about the Vietnamese culture, thinking that since Tuan had begun his tattooing career there, the culture would have a great influence upon him. But instead, I learned a wonderful lesson of how we are influenced by our interests in other people's cultures. Although Tuan had embraced some of the influences from his own culture, he was also greatly influenced by the modern Japanese culture and the ancient Aztec culture for the basics of his artwork. And now that he is living here in Canada, there will be other influences that will inspire him.
Tuan is a natural artist who has great discipline and patience for details. I really look forward to seeing what he will be producing over the next few years. It truly was an honor to interview him. And of course, I was thrilled to get my first little tattoo, which turned out amazing!
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