PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
After the spectacular success of Takahiro Kitamura and Kip Fulbeck’s Japanese tattoo exhibit Perseverance, which details “the artistry of traditional Japanese tattoos along with its rich history and influence on modern tattoo practices,” Bob Jones and “Trich” Holloway has created an exhibition focused on photographs of the faces of their human canvases as they go under the needle.
“We called the exhibit ‘Fuck That Hurts,’ said Jones, “because that is what we hear from customers most often.”
Rahessha Smith, 26, has more than a dozen tattoos and all but one are done by Holloway. “I just know as soon as I hear that thing start to buzz it is going to hurt like a motherfucker, but in the end it is worth it.”
Jones started snapping photos of Holloway’s customers two years ago. The two of them decided it was time to celebrate the pain and suffering that Holloway’s clients go through to get their ink.
“We considered just shooting the final product, the tattoos themselves, but pretty quickly we realized I am not that good of a photographer and the tattoos themselves can be a little shaky quality wise. But the expressions on people’s faces when you jab them 190 times a second with a needle? That is too good not to share.”
The exhibit will run for two weeks at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Holloway described as “way better than the shithole they did the Japanese one in LA at.”
photo credit: BrittneyBush cc
