A former chef turned tattooist, Frenchman Yom tells Inkers about his journey, which was influenced by the tattoo and Japanese cultures from an early age. They naturally led him to specialise in the style, becoming in fifteen years one of the fine needles of the Mystery Tattoo Club studio in Paris. In search of authenticity, Yom deepens it in the respect of codes and tradition, while allowing himself new graphic experiments, mixing in particular the old and the contemporary by associating motorbike racing with the aesthetics of the ukiyo-e print.
Have you always done Japanese?
Yes, since the beginning, 15 years ago. The first big pieces I did on my friends and clients were already Japanese.
Where does tattooing start for you?
As far as I can remember, it goes back to my childhood. I was about ten years old. My father had a few small tattoos, nothing big but he had all these specialised magazines lying around his house and I was immediately fascinated by them. Every time I went to his house, the first thing I did was to open them. That's when I knew I was going to get a tattoo. I waited until I was 21 to do my first one and meeting the tattooist motivated me to start my own. I had been a chef for six years and I couldn't stand the pace anymore, I had to change my life!
Is drawing something you had already developed?
Yes, I used to draw a lot when I was a kid but that's where it stopped. When I decided to do tattooing, I started from scratch. I couldn't get a traditional apprenticeship because I needed to pay my rent so I started as a piercer. I stayed that way for a year to get into the business. It wasn't exciting and I felt I was wasting my time, so I went back to work in the kitchen. But this time during the day, so that I could free up time in the evening and tattoo at home. I worked in the school canteens in the morning and then I drew and tattooed until noon. I worked like that for a year, until I had a small book in hand with which I could then approach a street shop, on the advice of a friend. I was hired the next day! Since that day, I live my passion to the full!
How do you come into contact with Japanese culture?
Always thanks to (or because of?) my father. He was passionate about martial arts and collected books on the subject and on Japan in general. And then at the time, there were mangas on television which indirectly influenced a whole generation. The same goes for video games, I grew up with the classics of the genre. It should also be remembered that the whole high-tech world at that time was Japanese, so we all had a bit of Japan in our homes!
When did you decide to devote yourself to it?
From the beginning of my career I knew that my goal would be to make it my speciality. But as it is a very complex style and takes a long time to master, I first got to grips with all the styles, so as to acquire a complete technical know-how. It was important for me to respond to my clients' requests, from the simplest to the most outlandish, in order to progress every day. As I did not have an apprenticeship, I had to draw. For seven/eight years now I have dedicated myself solely to this style.
How do you go about it when you, as a foreigner, want to immerse yourself in a culture that is not your own?
Well, you study, you study and you study some more. Like an academic! My parents would have liked me to give so much of myself in my school studies! And above all I travelled. I had to immerse myself totally in this culture. I went to Japan three times in one year. I met some of the big names in Japanese tattooing, including Horiyoshi III, who is one of my main sources of inspiration. I got tattooed there and tried to learn the language - I've since stopped due to time constraints. But that's the way I work, I'm monomaniacal and I need to learn to feel invested. The great thing about Japanese culture is that it's full of fascinating things in all areas!
What satisfaction do you get from this style of tattooing?
There are so many of them! I find it elegant, powerful, delicate and spiritual at the same time. My first tattoo slaps were when I looked at Japanese bodysuits. I could feel the devotion and self-sacrifice necessary to understand this unique and ancestral style, which requires so much patience. Patience, for the client but also for the tattooist. In my eyes, it is the purest and most accomplished style in terms of harmony between body and spirit. I love the spiritual connection it evokes and the intrinsic beauty that emanates from it. I take great pleasure in trying to transcribe all this in each of my tattoos.
Between interpretation and the desire for authenticity, how do you find your place in this culture?
That's a very good question because it's a daily struggle, my quest for the grail! How do you interpret such a deep and structured, foreign style, with so many codes and stories without distorting the initial message? This is where this style fascinates me. You have to find that delicate balance between respecting certain codes and expressing the artist's ego. There are many ways of interpreting traditional Japanese tattooing. I try to find my own way, depending on the schools that inspire me - I can't follow just one. I try to understand, analyse and create without reinventing. This is what they call in Japan 'shu-ha-ri', a concept that was originally found in martial arts but which applies to all of life. It can be translated as: learn, deconstruct, create. It is a natural cycle that motivates me every day!
How did your approach develop, for example, between a European version shaped by the Filip Leu school and the traditional one seen in books?
It took me a long time to analyse what corresponded to me deep inside. Filip Leu was my first shocking encounter, 16 years ago when I went to see him in Switzerland. I was fascinated by his style. He was the gaijin (foreigner) who was reinventing Japanese tattooing in his own way, with an unprecedented mastery and understanding of the body. Then the Japanese tattooist Shige came along and I thought his neo-Japanese style - as well as Filip's - was just perfect. It was the Japanese I wanted to try to do: very dynamic, detailed, well coloured. But, with time, meetings and especially exchanges with other artists, I realised that what really made me tick was elsewhere. There was something missing in my artistic and philosophical approach to Japanese tattooing. I wanted authenticity. So, little by little, I started to study the horimono style, trying to understand how it works, the rules, the codes, the compositions, etc... It's the same stories but told in a different way.
What are the important criteria to keep in mind when doing Japanese?
Oh, that's a question for a master! Haha... I think each tattooist has his own definition but, as far as I'm concerned, the criteria are both technical and philosophical. One of the most important things for me is the soul that you put in your tattoo, the knowledge and passion that you have for this culture, the desire to transmit. Then there is the technical aspect of the tattoo: a lot of black, a maximum contrast between black and grey in the gakus (the backgrounds) which are the foundations of the piece. Finally, there are the beautiful flat colours that will come, as a matter of course, to finalise the whole! I like to add a bit of detail in order to have a reading in two times: from far and then from near. The tattoo must be alive and provide an emotion, whatever the distance from which the observer is standing. Of course, you also have to take into account the ageing process and, in the end, find that perfect balance with each tattoo! This is my quest.
Are there any Japanese masters to whom you invariably refer?
It is a crucial step to understand horimono of course. I refer to many masters, both ancient and modern. As I said, my first reference is Horiyoshi III. He is a monster of creativity and passion who really fascinates me. There is also Horiyasu from Asakusa whom I follow a lot, for his incredible technical solidity and, finally, the very great Horitoshi I for his very dense and readable compositions. And then, how can I forget Horikazu, Horiyoshi II? Among the young people, I like Tenten, Ichibay, Horitomo, Alex Reinke, Horigyn. I really like western schools, Spanish and Brazilian schools in particular!
You find inspiration in tattoo artists but also in Japanese artists, can you tell us about them?
The greatest ones of course, those who laid the graphic foundations of the tattoo in print such as Hokusai, Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, Kunichika and so many others. My main direct references now are solely linked to Japanese prints and sculpture. The indirect inspirations come from the cinema, Kurosawa's for his great classics, Kitano for his zany side and the Toei films between 1960 and 2000. I also like to delve into Japanese literature and myths, to let my imagination run wild, like Futaro Yamada's Ninja Scrolls or Bakin's adaptation of "The Eight Dogs of the Satomi". It's a great work, but it's not well known. And also Tanizaki, Eiji Yoshikawa, Akimitsu Takagi, Ueda Akinari and many others. Reading inspires me a lot!
What are the reasons why this style appeals to your foreign clients?
I don't know exactly, I think that's the magic of tattooing. It's a universal iconographic language that sometimes doesn't need words... It's just an emotion created by an image and a very strong desire to wear it until death! In spite of everything, I think that Japanese culture is loved all over the world, precisely because of its singularity. The horimono, in this sense, is the quintessence in my eyes of what could be the heritage of this culture which brings together, once again: elegance, power, delicacy, timelessness and violence! I think that customers can find themselves in at least one of these definitions.
How has this style evolved since you started tattooing? Are clients more open today to the idea of a body suit?
Yes, there has been an evolution in the requests since I started. Many of my clients now start with a full arm or back. 15 years ago, this was more rare. Social networks have contributed to this and so has the evolution of our society! The horimono is now available everywhere and people have easier access to it. Before, you had to want it to find solid references; you had to travel, otherwise it was complicated. Nowadays, you can scroll on your toilet or in the metro without realising it. The good thing is that the approach is more relaxed and I do bodysuits on virgin clients, who nevertheless know very well what they are doing!
Japanese tattooing draws on a particularly rich culture. Personally, what are your favourite themes?
I have a small preference for characters linked to legends: deities, heroes, geishas, magicians, etc. I really like the symbolism and the commitment they evoke, but also from an aesthetic point of view the details they allow - like kimonos or nijyubori (tattoo within a tattoo). But, of course, I love flower arrangements or animals. I also have fun doing very simple carp or sinuous snakes that follow the shape of the body.
Apart from tattooing you also paint a lot. What place do you give to this discipline?
Yes, I try to make time for it. I would like to have a little more time for it, it's a moment of relaxation and study, a laboratory where I do my experiments. Sometimes I make simple, effective arms to guide customers and offer them a ready-made design. Sometimes I also need to get out of this frame, so I experiment, like a few years ago with a series called "Edo lullabies" in which I tried to integrate architectural plans in the background. More recently I did a series on the theme of motorbikes called "hashire" (roll fast). It is completely out of the world of tattooing but still linked to ukiyo-e.
Can you tell us more about this "hashire" series, I think you are a biker yourself?
I need to get out of the rigid frame of the horimono from time to time and I do it through painting, while keeping this link with the ukiyoe graphics. Actually, I discovered the work of Japanese artist Masami Teraoka a few years ago and I loved this mix of ancient and contemporary art. Being able to tackle today's themes using graphics from another era is what inspired this series. I'm passionate about motorbikes and racing in particular, so I wanted to mix my two passions through a single medium! The world of motorbike racing has been dominated for 50 years by Japanese manufacturers. They have developed real war machines and still today they prove their worth. I wanted to pay homage to these crazy riders, these modern day warriors who ride their bikes to face their opponents, with a lot of anger even if it means dying!
It is indeed very warlike!
I see it as a sort of (less bloody) continuation of the Sengoku Jidai period, a period of constant warfare for the unification of Japan in the 16th century during which clans fought each other and the print depicted some of these heroes. I was inspired by this for the pilots, whom I dressed in leather suits, similar to armour. It was very interesting to work them in the style of kimonos, with the sponsors of the time, etc. I did a lot of research to respect, as much as possible, every detail of each suit as well as the bikes themselves. I also made some extras that are not related to the race but rather to the motorbike culture in Japan, like an adaptation of Kaneda from the cult movie Akira or also of bosozoku (delinquent gangs of motorbike tuning fans from the 1980's) or of Kintaro fighting against his broken down bike. And I still have a lot of ideas for the future! + IG : @_yom_ Mystery Tattoo Club 13, rue de la Grang aux Belles 75010 Paris www.mysterytattooclub.com
