Dark Arts: Johnny Gloom

EXPLORING THE UNIQUE ART OF THE TATTOO

THE DARK ARTS

01 / FEATURING THE WORK OF JOHNNY GLOOM

As a creative person, tattoos for me are collected artworks first and foremost. I have these little works of art etched into my skin, serving as a living gallery to the all the artists who created them. There is something mesmerising about watching the tattoo artist create upon you. Giving your skin to them to become their canvas. This is why I prefer to allow my tattoo artists free reign to interpret what I want in their own way.

One of my favourite tattoo artists has to be Johnny Gloom. She (yes, Johnny's a she) works from a private studio in Paris and has already gained a cult following in the few short years she's being tattooing. Whilst my own tattoos favour the more traditional style, these high contrast black pieces call out to the graphic designer in me.

Johnny Gloom began studying communications and advertising before deciding to enter the world of tattooing instead, but her design background has certainly influenced her style. She focuses on simple, graphic shapes, centered around the film noir-esque femme fatale motif, inspired by the seductive women photographed by the likes of Guy Bourdin and Helmut Newton.

There is an elegant eroticism about her work that is quintessentially French.

In 2016 streetwear brand, Ball & Chain Co. who's Fuck Forever patch gained them a mass of dedicated followers, collaborated with Johnny Gloom to use her fetish tinged designs on a range of Ball & Chain Co products, which sold out in mere hours.

She also has a small shop of her own selling her prints.