July 2026
In Conversation With:
Guy Le Tatooer & Ricky Madison
A dialogue on community and the permanent mark. We sat down to explore the creative world of Guy Le Tatooer and Ricky Madison, the collaborators behind the Reflections collection.
Guy Le Tatooer is the LA-based artist whose signature motifs draw inspiration from traditional folk art and mythical symbolism, reflecting the stories and personal encounters gathered across years of traveling the globe. As an artist and founder of Bangkok-based creative collective Loco Mosquito, Ricky Madison seamlessly bridges the worlds of tattooing and fashion to construct a unique, highly visual universe. The duo have a long-standing creative relationship, having translated their shared passion for body art into limited apparel collaborations through Loco Mosquito, featuring Guy's signature tattoo motifs. Despite the distance between them, their bond remains anchored by a shared philosophy on craftsmanship, identity, and the community that brought them together.
Discover an intimate conversation on friendship, identity, and the shared culture behind their intricate craft.
This transformative thing of self-esteem, mind empowerment - that’s probably the magic of tattooing which is rarely talked about
Personal identity
Growing up with parents who were tattooers, Guy felt early on that his path was already chosen for him. Being raised inside a tattoo shop shaped his identity from the very beginning, making the studio a natural part of his everyday life. Yet despite this, he remains grounded when defining his role: “I don’t consider myself as an artist at all, more like a craftsman”. Over time, however, he has slowly come to accept tattooing as a form of art, standing alongside more traditional creative mediums.
For Ricky, the journey followed a different trajectory, transitioning from a background in fashion into the subculture of tattooing. “Ten, fifteen years ago, tattooing wasn’t as socially acceptable or fashionable as it is now, which affected the way tattooers went about their practice, requiring a great deal of decision-making”. For Ricky, tattooing has always been a transformative concept centered on self-esteem and mind empowerment: an internal aspect which is rarely talked about in today’s image-focused digital world.
While the tattoo community is often perceived from the outside as traditional and closed-off, Ricky emphasizes the deep, global connections built on mutual respect. “It’s very traditional in that sense. If we go somewhere, they take care of us; they come to our place and we do vice versa. That’s probably what community means to me”. He describes a sense of hospitality and togetherness that bridges artists across borders, blurring the lines between different cultures and languages through a shared lifestyle. For Ricky, it is this genuine human connection that truly defines their world: “Not so much that you’re a part of the tattooing industry”.
The meaning of ‘Reflections’
When exploring the meaning behind the collection's name, Guy describes a space in-between, where 'reflection' becomes the bridge connecting his tattoo work and jewellery design. This intersection, where the craft meets the introspection of the artist, creates a harmonious balance between the physical object and the internal world of its creator. It is a state that Guy describes as 'intemporal': existing outside of time.
Ricky views this concept through life's progression. “There’s a lot of positive and negative experiences you go through, where tattooing, or in this case the jewellery, could be seen as a reflection or an encapsulation of a moment in time.” Ultimately, the collection serves as a wearable mirror: a keepsake of the memories, experiences, and challenges that shape our individual journeys.
Videos and photos by Taro Okagawa
Behind the Craft:
Guy Le Tatooer
Discover the full story of the Reflections collection, and the artist behind the craft: Guy Le Tatooer.
