A REFLECTION ON TATTOO CULTURE, CRAFTSMANSHIP, AND COLLABORATION

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE LOCO MOSQUITO AESTHETIC, AND YOUR OWN ARTISTIC STYLE, TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER ENCOUNTERED YOUR WORK BEFORE?

Visually dynamic and authentic. 'Authentic' in the sense that we work closely with real living artists, still practicing their craft by hand, and as such the final design is never perfect and is susceptible to human imperfections. The brush strokes, the trials, the errors, the blemishes, the crowding details, the balanced compositions, all co-exist to present the most true and most 'authentic' version of the artwork itself. The artwork and the artists who create them always take center-stage, it's important that the end-product should be an extension of the artists' personality and story. That's what I believe gives it legitimate 'authenticity' and context and this is the main driving ethos in our work.

YOU'VE TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY AND LIVED IN DIFFERENT CORNERS OF THE WORLD THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER. HOW HAVE THESE SHIFTING CULTURES INFLUENCED YOUR CRAFT?

In my mid-twenties, I started to gravitate towards Eastern culture, traveling to places like Nepal & India, and also looking introspectively into my heritage such as tribal Indonesian art from Borneo and Sumbawa. These are all stuff I found mundane as a kid, but later on I revisited it and was captivated by the visual language. The older you get, you start seeing things in a different light.

I moved to Bangkok 11 years ago and I love the energy of this city. It fosters Western creativity but also maintains its traditional Southeast Asian idiosyncrasies with religion, culture, and folk art. Our studio is a representation of this chaotic balance, a permanent reminder of our travel memories and inspirations.

ARE THERE ANY PARTICULAR ARTISTS YOU ARE INSPIRED BY WHO HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?

Guy Le Tatooer and Filip Leu. Both are artists I regard very highly as pioneers in the tattoo world. I admire their relentless conviction to experimentation, taking traditional elements and crafting new possibilities with it, always pushing the boundaries of what's possible in their craft.

IS THERE A SPECIFIC PROJECT, GARMENT, OR TATTOO YOU'VE CREATED THAT STANDS OUT AS YOUR ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE OR MOST MEMORABLE MILESTONE?

We did a special installation and exhibition project held in Mexico City in 2022 titled the "KIMONO BODYSUIT PROJECT", where we worked with 8 legendary tattoo artists, each presenting their own unique vision of a full bodysuit tattoo concept, presented as 8 lifesize paintings. The artwork on these paintings are fully tattooable designs for the body and these paintings are then translated into fully-printed kimonos as well, resulting in a wearable artistic object that resembles a fully-tattooed body and also as a decorative hanging art piece.