Ink master of frowned upon art
POPULAR in the first world, the painting of flesh is viewed as weird and evil in the eyes of local people, especially in the dominant Christian religion.
But for Craig Bell, who learnt doing body tattooing from his brother six years ago, he views it as higher level art, the human body is the canvas on which he paints on.
He intends to take this art to greater heights and convince people that it is indeed worth pursuing and celebrating.
Bell was an apprentice to Roberto Bell, the first tattooist to open an official tattoo studio in Harare, who is also his elder brother.
He has now graduated to be a standalone professional in the game.
“I have always been an artistic person who loves the expression displayed in body art, which has always fascinated me because every tattoo carries an individual personality to its owner,” said Bell.
“In Zimbabwe the market is growing as fast as the music industry in my eyes, because both the musicians and their fans all seek my work and talent. My artwork carries a certain personality, which relates to the person who would have selected it, some even choose what people view as horrendous images of monsters or dragons, which makes my work fairly exclusive and exciting to do.”
Bell went on to explain that his clients have different reasons for getting tattoos.
“For others it’s following the trend while for some it’s a way of rehabilitation. Some do it simply to cover stretch marks or scars and body wrinkles.
“Some popular ones are sentimental, especially for lovers, they come to me to turn their memorable moments into tattoos and I always silently pray that they do not break-up after going through all that pain in their flesh,” he said.
Bell established his own studio at his Vainona residence in Harare where he uses a professional tattoo gun and sealed surgical needles and sterilisers as compared to backyard tattooists who according to his observation recycle their needles, endangering their clients’ health.
He confidently revealed that he uses imported inks, which are tailor-made for tattoos, therefore, reducing any chance of side effects. He boasted of zero complaints ever since he started his artistry.
“I mainly use stencils so the chances of mistakes are slim but in case it happens, I smooth them out if my client and I see that work is not as expected. It is also adventurous in a way because some people ask me to do the job in weird body parts, including full torsos.
“My best work experience was in South Africa when a few friends and I did a small tattoo party and I tattooed about thirty people in one night and the worst one was with a guy who made me tattoo his whole arm and when I finished he told me he had left his wallet in the car and drove off without paying!” he chuckled.
Most people associate tattoos with evil and rebellion and others even refer to the book of Deuteronomy where God clearly commands people not to tattoo their bodies.
Bell disagrees. He believes a gift can only be God-given.
“I’m a Catholic who believes in our Lord Jesus Christ and the biblical aspect on tattoos and piercings is tricky, so I reserve my comments on that but all I can say is it is a job and passion of mine which I can’t stop pursuing because I believe my talent came from God.
“It’s a business which is rising by the day, I get mixed clientele especially from the younger generation who appreciate it as a new trend, at least locally.
“My family has been very supportive of my work because they have seen my struggle from a young age and I am very grateful to them. My aim is to teach others who are interested in this kind of art,” he concluded.