155 Chapel Street,
Prahran, Victoria. 3181
Phone: 03 9521 1202 www.chapeltattoo.com
Open: 12-6pm Mon. to Fri. 11am - 6pm Sat.
The
reputation of the artists working at Chapel Tattoo is superlative and
the studio is definitely one of Australia's most well known and respected.
With the likes of artists such as Andrew McLeod, Jane Laver, Kate Knowles
& Brian Graydon calling it their home, it is little wonder!
Chapel Tattoo is situated on trendy Chapel Street in Prahran, more known
for it’s high class boutique clothing shops, than tattoo studios.
Specialising in high-end custom work Chapel is at the forefront of a
wave of extremely talented (for want of a better word) “Gen X”
artists who are combining creativity and technical skill that is world
class. While you can still walk in off the street and choose something
from the flash on the walls, it’s mainly those who go by reputation
who enter the doors.
Having had many “20-something” friends who choose to go to
Chapel from all over Australia, and seeing the brilliant work they have
come out with, I decided it was time to discover who the people behind
the reputations are and what they think of the way things are going
in the tattoo world.
After all, these people are helping shape the future of Australian tattooing.
Kate: It was getting tattooed on my 18th birthday. As far as tattooing goes it involved a dodgy guitar string set up. Before that I worked on farms and as a kitchen hand.
N: So was it getting tattooed which made you want to tattoo?
K: Yeah, and then I got a few tattoos here (Chapel Tattoo) and I was attracted to it from there. I
was always into art.
N: Is there a style you like to do more then any others?
K: No not particularly, I like something that's a bit challenging and different.
N: What are your influences?
K: I have a lot of influences from art to music to people, not just tattoos, but everything.
Jane: I don’t even know if I should talk about as it was completely unprofessional: I tattooed a friend with a home made machine that he had made and wanted me to try it out.
N: But even before that, what made you want to even try to tattoo?
J: The friends that I had were all into tattoos and stuff. I knew Andrew at the time and he was a big influence on me when I was around 18 and got into that way, but before that I didn’t really have much to do with them really.
N: Do you have any favourite styles?
J: If the customer is good I don’t mind what I do. I enjoy doing traditional style stuff, Japanese style stuff, (like everyone really), also I like doing things that are different as well, like the Tom of Finland piece!
Andrew: I tattooed the Dead Kennedy’s logo on my finger at school, and my Dad had a few tattoos he got while he was in the army. I always had a fascination for it since I was young but I never imagined I would be doing it as a job.
N: What do you think makes the tattoos you do yours? I think you have a fairly recognisable style.
A: Yeah a lot of people say that, but I don’t know, I can’t really put my finger on it. Maybe it’s the bold lines and I spend a lot of time on getting my colour right, making sure they’re complimentary.
N: Is there a particular style you like doing?
A: Probably traditional, I do like doing Japanese as well, just cause it’s fun to work on big pieces that flow with the body.
Andrew,
Jane and Kate currently have two other artists working with them, Smeer
and Brian Graydon, whose work you also see in this article, Daz the
‘Magic Manager’ who keeps the shop running and the lovely
Rebecca who’ll look after you and answer all your questions on
the weekends. AJ was working at Chapel Tattoo at the time this article
was written but has moved onto Westside in Brisbane.
I would like to express my thanks to Jane, Andrew and Kate for their
time, opinions and especially their incredible talent and contribution
to Australian tattooing. The future is so bright!!
For more of this interview Issue 44 of Tattoos Down Under is available as a back order now
