Ink and Flow

Tell us about yourself and what you’re up to.
My name is Joon! I am a tattoo artist and creative, currently based in Singapore. I’ve been tattooing on real skin recently, so that’s been really, really exciting! Other than that, I’ve also been working at a yoga studio.

How’s the journey with tattooing been like for you?
I’ve always wanted to be a tattoo artist since I was young, but I struggled a lot with imposter syndrome. When I moved back to Singapore from Melbourne, I decided to finally go for it. It’s been really tough, but also extremely rewarding, so… I’m just taking everything one day at a time!

I’ve always liked drawing and working in the creative industry, and at heart, I still enjoy designing pieces since illustration is a huge part of my background. Tattooing a design onto a person is also a very special thing for me — realising that this artwork is now a part of someone forever.

What’s a part of being a tattoo artist today that you didn’t expect to be doing?
These days, you have to do a lot of content creation as well. It’s no longer only about drawing, designing, and tattooing anymore; a lot of it is about social media and the storytelling of your journey — like how you create your designs, or what a day in your life is like as a tattoo artist. These are the kinds of social media content we have to put out to survive nowadays as an artist. So, I find myself doing a lot of storytelling through my social media.

Apart from tattooing, how else do you like to express yourself creatively?
Well, I own a merch brand too, called Light and Glory, although I’ve put it on the back burner for the time being. I actually just boothed at an art market this year, High Fructose, which a friend of mine hosted. I’ve just been trying to put myself out there as much as possible, since designing merch and apparel is one of my passions too!

I try to find a balance in my designs — creating classic, elegant pieces that also come with an edgy touch. I found it quite hard to find stuff like that for a female audience, so I just started designing pieces that I would want to wear myself.

That sounds tiring to balance! What keeps you going?
I don’t really have any days off, because I spend five days in the tattoo studio and the other two at the yoga studio. But what keeps me going is the reminder that I’m doing something I really like, and having the freedom to move my timelines around now that I’m not working a 9-to-5 anymore. I did that for eight years, and it wasn’t fulfilling at all. Even though I work seven days a week now, I love my everyday life and it’s super rewarding!