Former designer turned tattooist Oscar Hove, a Spanish tattooist from Barcelona, has been offering one of the most unique interpretations of Japanese iconography at the Ondo Tattoo studio in the Catalan capital. Interview.
When did tattooing start for you?
I have been in the tattoo business for 10 years, but I started with my first paintings when I was very young. Before tattooing, I was working in the field of graphic design, more precisely in animation and motion graphics.
Have you always worked with Japanese inspiration?
No, it was only about 4 years ago, after a trip to Tokyo, that I started doing oriental designs. Before that I did a bit of everything in tattooing, but I hardly ever touched colour. I've always been more into blackwork.
How did your encounter with Japanese culture come about?
I have been practising martial arts since I was very young, and Japan has obviously been a point of reference. Japanese art has always attracted my attention by its cleanliness and simplicity. I was less interested in tattooing until the trip to Japan I just mentioned, during which my vision changed a little. I began to understand it a little more, until I fell completely in love with it.
You now offer your own version, at a distance from this foreign culture.
I use the iconography (without wanting to offend anyone) as a set of decorative elements without trying to reproduce their own stories. Of course, I know some of the classical Japanese culture and I learn as much as I can, but I try to use their graphic language to express my own message.
Does the minimalism of your work have anything to do with your former job as a designer?
It has more to do with my personality. I'm not very comfortable making drawings with a lot of detail, I like images that can be read very quickly. We can repeat images over and over again, but adding a twist will always make them more eye-catching.
In another interview you mentioned your interest in occultism and esotericism, can you tell us about it?
Who doesn't question themselves? Who doesn't question what's out there? I think this is something very common in human beings. Incorporating these questions into my tools when I create helps me to enrich the interest of the piece.
You refer to the traditional Japanese technique of suminagashi (which consists of creating marbling on paper from drops of ink poured onto a water surface) to evoke your flowing portraits. What inspiration did you find there?
To talk about what it is for the Japanese, I would have to talk about their culture, their beliefs, even their religion, and that would take a long time. What I can tell you is that I am a lover of fluidity and movement, and suminagashi is perfect for giving movement to my work.
The mask is a recurring motif, where does this fascination come from?
I do have a fixation with masks. As a child I was scared when I saw one, but then I fell in love with it. Now it's a mixture, between the agitation they produce in me and the love I have for them. I find them beautiful.
You have just released a book entitled “Masked”, the result of your time in confinement, a book of masks wearing masks. What is the history of this project?
I had already drawn and tattooed some masks with masks years ago and they were very successful. During the lockdown, it seemed like a good idea to get back into it. However, I never imagined that we would live with the mask for so long. This year I could see how people, despite their covered faces, showed something of themselves, whether it was a joyful character through wearing colourful masks with floral patterns, or more psychotic ones with double masks, screens, glasses… It was very curious to see how their use was transformed. I thought it was equally curious to represent this use in some way, with a collection in book form.
You do beer bottle labels, kimonos, clothes... How important is this variety of media to you?
I do it for fun and to get some air into my tattooing. But in the end, it all adds up. Playing with other formats helps you learn things that you can then apply to tattooing.
Ondo Tattoo, the studio where you work, has an impressive amount of creativity, entirely dedicated to blackwork. What influence do all these talents have around you?
Well, what can I tell you? You said it very well in the question. It is very important to be surrounded by great talent, not only for what you can learn from them, but also because the healthy competition motivates you to progress. I am very lucky to be able to share with such great artists as my colleagues at Ondo Tattoo. + Web : www.oscarhove.com IG : @oscarhove IG studio : @ondotattoo
