ONE

I started tattooing with my
girlfriend; we together bought
a machine and shit and started

tattooing each other, this
was when we were traveling
around. First did it in a ho-

tel room in Genève where
she was dancing and then
I was inking friends and

strangers I met along the
way for free only.

After returning to Jeru-
salem I opened together
with a few friends a con-
cert place for noise and
performance and also a
tattoo space in the most
religious neighbourhood
in Jeru… and it went
surprisingly well now it’s
been 4 years.
52

Now I’m in Telaviv, some guy just gave me matization of the body and through this
a gallery space to work from and there’s the emancipation and the feel good about
other exhibitions changing all the time the new uncertain you, and also just being
from different art heads in this fancy radio cool, I don’t really know what I’m doing
station bar pizza shit … but I’m constantly looking for it.

I have to stay in this country for the next 3 AMIT MENDEL
months because I have community service @AUTO_CHRIST
or whatever it’s called for this court case
about graffiti... And after this I’m going to
get married in France with Emi and build
a house and dance studio, which we started
working on this summer already.
Tattooing for me is basically the dedra-

JORDY KERWICK

Where are you working from at the moment?

Down in Melbourne - other side of the world. I paint out of two spaces; one studio is a little flashier
than the other. I started out collecting Chuck Sperry and Angelique Houtkamp prints and started
painting off the back off a few successful successful business ventures that allowed me to buy some
original art. The successful business ventures were short lived! haha. So wondered how hard it could
be and started painting, was really hard. Ha!
54

Did it take long before you I know I guy I don’t want to name who does very through with his
become comfortable with what drawings
you were making?
Sales through Instagram?
I’m not sure I’ll ever be
comfortable to be honest. No before Instagram really, he’s there now. He often says how doing
Instagram is an incredible tool well with his drawings makes him too busy to have the time to draw,
to reference and peruse. You
paint something a particular
way or use a medium that
works, take a pic, whack it on
Instagram, then see the recent
works of some artists you
look up to and feel defeated
and before you know it you’re
back to the beginning. So I’m
not sure I’ll ever be comfort-
able.

For me it’s a hard balance
between isolating myself in and
trying not to feel like the world
is passing by, I feel a pressure to
keep an obvious visual presence
that I’m working often but it
takes a lot out of me to digest

everything.

Yep, there is a commercial
reality to Instagram. It leads
to opportunities and that you
probably wouldn’t have oth-
erwise been afforded had you
not had a reasonable presence
on Instagram.

An artist mate of mine in NY everything he had to do to get about and seen, he found it more than a
feels like you do - it actually full time job
takes a little piece of him
managing his Instagram. It’s a I think networking is pretty critical. Some of Australia’s most prom-
little more natural for me and inent artists sell under the table via Instagram.
it’s really a facade - I’ll never
meet 99% of people I follow
or that follow me, so I feel
less pressure than I do in real
life from friends and family.

Instagram is almost entirely how I make my living, mediums, applications and tricks of the trade.
that and I advertise in art school bathrooms, it’s I’ve got some amazing artist mates who are kind
strange. So how do you feel going from buying art enough to let me pick their brains, so I consider
to making art, it’s a fairly unique position, have myself very lucky.
you found it gives you more agency? You think maybe there’s a more creative approach
to buying and curating than a lot of other curators
Yeah, galleries are a necessary commodity and
are bloody great to visit, but from an artist’s and buyers? I’m my experience there’s preference
perspective, are cash flow prohibitive. They to know the works subject matter before actually
legitimise and hinder at the same time. I love seeing it, priorities to what could compliment and
doing both; I think I have a better eye for buy- enforce an idea for a show but often they’re a mess
ing/curating than I do for painting. I love the
idea of buying a tiny bit of someone’s mind that visually.
is largely unable to be replicated. Funny enough, I tend to enjoy the art I’ve
bought/acquired at a greater level is the artist
That’s interesting because as an outsider, you seen and the meaning behind the piece is interesting.
very comfortable with paint, a good eye for simple Maybe it’s a subconscious thing. Regarding
gestures is maybe something you can’t always learn, curating, depending on your intention and
and the heavy impasto, it brings almost a sculptur- reasons for curating.
I’m curating a show with two mates from
al quality to the paintings. Glasgow in December, and have taken a pretty
Yeah, I loved reading about Soutine and his ag- hedonistic approach to it. Picking artists we love
gressive application of oil. The flatter paintings and have themed it really simply around home,
I’ve done are generally painted over if they aren’t and what it means. Maybe it’s too literal for real
sold and I need something to paint on. I’m still art people, but I think the biggest set back in
learning, and probably always will be, regarding the art industry is the view that you need to

know something about it to buy it, which is
a total fallacy.

56

Looking at art as an investment, probably a slightly different approach, far
more rigid and a little soulless, just my opinion though.

I don’t like that isolating idea of an art language, curating shows specifically
for a small super educated demographic, assuming large amounts of knowledge

already etc., I feel uncomfortable with the exclusivity.
Me either, 98% of people fail to connect. So I guess it all comes down to
who your target market is when planning a show. Have you heard ‘New
Slang’ by The Shins?

Nope!
I Used the song as a premise for the show in December – has a profound
effect on me and makes me feel warm and fuzzy about my wife, sons, dogs
etc. Feels like Home.
I’m very interested in how people respond to painting, with the amount of time
that can be spent working on something to the amount of time spent viewing.
Also painting is expensive and looking is for free, so I got really interested in the

temporality of it.
Large disparity in art vs. critic, huh.
There’s so much art, and a lot of people speak about tattooing as permanent but
it’s not, it lasts a whole let less than any painting to become dust, and tattoos as

an art form are so cheap.
I’ve got two sleeves and my feet tattooed. The permanency is comforting,
and you are right, in relative terms, tattoos are an absolute steal.
And then they’re gone! Also, tattooing tends to be disregarded as sort of dumb,

almost like painting is seen as dumb and reactionary. But people getting tat-
tooed are making big visual decisions.

I know what you mean. The painting is purely a by-product of the person
painting it. I watch cartoons and will see this incredible,. Surreal monster.
The simplicity of the cartoon character is unbelievable, but the dude who
design and animated him, will be and large be nameless. If someone with
a level of prominence paints the same simple character, it’s revered and re-
garded as art. Just like paintings tattoos don’t define the person, the person
defines the tattoos.

So what are your plans for the future?
Good question. I want to keep showing
and keep working with emerging artists to
ensure they are shown. Artist lack business
acumen and can be taken advantage of, or
don’t think creatively about the commer-
cial element to their art (ironic), which is
problematic, as we all have to eat!
I need to keep learning – lots of listen-
ing and watching. I think the beauty of
painting is there isn’t really a definable end
game. I’ll be putting my head together
for a group show I’m in in Berlin. I’m the
most junior artist on the card, so need to
produce something loose and uncontrived.

Last question! Who should I be talking to
next?

Sally Bradley is one of the most interesting
artists you’ll speak to, she is a brilliant artist
and calls a spade a spade.

JORDY KERWICK
@JORDYKERWICK

MABE SERVADIO

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A D A Y CI N T HO E L I CF E O FO T A T O C O C O

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A day in the life of
Tato Coco.
1/This is me on the sub-
w1/aTy.hIiswisokme euponabthouet
asunbhwoauyr. aIgwooaknedunpow
athbeoutitmaenish1ou2:r0a9g.o
and now the time is 12:09.
2/Breakfast.
2/Breakfast.
3/This is were the dreams come true. Deep-
3w/oTohdiTs aisttwooerientShteocdkrheoalmms. cIto’smsme atrlluaen. d
cDozeye.pCwhoeocdk Touattt@oodeinepSwtooocdkthaottlomo..
It’s small and cozy. Check out
@deepwoodtattoo.

4/This is Morgan. Gotta keep 9/Me and Morgan are
them bangs sharp. Check out @ going to the park for
morganingenting. some relaxation be-
5/I heard some noise from the back fore next tattoo.
room and there he was, Froggy frog 10/This is
boy Emil, aka the boss frog. Check beautiful
out @frogmil. Björkhagen.
6/I’m gonna do this in 15 min- Great place for a
utes. I don’t know what LLVL tattoo studio.
stands for but someone told me 11/Break time.
12/I apply a rich
it’s “Lämnar landet vid lunch” amount of Vaseline
which translates to “Leaving during this next tattoo.
the country by noon”. Some people say I use
too much goo but
7/Half done. I say do what you
8/All done. want.
13/This is
how the
sculpture
came out.
Always use a rich
amount of
Vaseline.

14/Bought tobacco on my way home. Fifty
cans of snus will last me five weeks.
15/At home it’s doughnut time.
16/Plain doughnut.
17/Relaxation on the balcony & then sleepy
time in the bedroom. I hope tomorrow will be
as good as today. Goodnight @TATO_COCO

PAUPERS BASTARDS LUNATICS
VISUAL CULTURES

AMIT MENDEL / COCO / EUGOR
EVA IRENE /FRAMACHO SILVA / LU LOME

MY MORG/ JAKOB TUNER
JORDY KERWICK / MABE / NATE HARMON

SERVADIO /TOM KROLL

PUBLISHED/EDIT @S.WILLIAM_
PBLJOURNAL.EU

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