Ink Dots/Black Spots @ The Vic Bar & The Aviary
Some of you may have noticed that I am not the biggest fan of tattoo style graffiti, that’s not to say I don’t like tattoo’s or that style of art, I just think that there are few cases where it suits the outside world. But being someone who will must likely have a fair share of ink [with a few already] I do really enjoy tattoo’s, the designs and especially flash sheets, so going on down to this massive show was a must. With a ton of work on display, it was all like looking at a massive flash sheet, which certainly isn’t a bad thing at all
Walking into this show, it’s pretty easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work on display, there is an unbelievable selection of artists here, from the ultra graphic, traditional and some what cartoony. There is a lot here for anyone and while that’s typically seen as a bad thing, each print is uniquely different then the last and we’re not just talking about artists here, we’re talking about people who’s work will literally last forever so the skill is obviously top notch. The one thing tattooist always have is a steady hand and an incredibly clean style of work, nothing ever looks messy throughout this show, nothing looks rushed and throw together, each piece has a nice sense of zen or controlled balance, everything is complete. Having gotten a piece of work done on myself by one of these artists, it was interesting to see his work stand up against some of his contemporaries, not to mention some of the street and graffiti artists thrown in there for good measure.
It was interesting being at a show that was completely black and white with no colour, but being someone who has a few pieces hung in their house with the same colour tone, it also has an attractive appeal to it. For me, outlines are somewhat more interesting then an entire piece itself, there’s always something to be learned from an outline of a piece of work. You can almost fill in or see the works come to life before the artist is given a chance to do so, from an artistic stand point its an appealing challenge, to the tattoo fan, you start to wonder how it would look on your skin.
Having gotten a tattoo by this guy in the past, I can’t recommend him enough. If you want an amazing photorealistic/portrait style piece, Marshall is your guy.
Congratulations to Simplesime, DangerFork and all the studio’s involved with this project, it’s looked like a lot of work for a more then worthy cause, nice work to all those who got themselves a print aswell. An extra congratulations goes out to the DangerFork Crew for getting all this out and producing an extra piece of work at the same time, nice one!
If you can’t make it down to see the show or if you’d like to purchase some prints it’s open at The Vic for another month and the prints will be online on Monday on the Ink Dots and Black Spots website, put some money into a great cause and get some great art at the same time yo!
