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Tēnā koa e hoa,

Ko Tē Atihaunui-a-Pāpārungi, ko Aranae toku ingoa.

I am guided to design, carve, record, in the way that I do by listening to how things make me feel. I believe the reservoirs of feeling are an intrinsic part of what it is to be alive, a resource of instinct that has always been available to us and will continue to be 4eva. I don’t understand what I make as mine, I have a relationship with what my body creates but this stuff is not synonymous with me as if I or the creations are a static thing easily measured. It makes more sense to me to consider what I’m practising to be a process of translation- I am practising translating feelings into various material and sensory forms. It feels good for me when people resonate with what I am sharing and simultaneously it simply feels good to just give some kind of expression to the wordless forces within.

Humans have had the impulse to adorn and carve a sense of identity into their skin throughout the world for millennia. I have recent tūpuna (ancestors) from a number of different lands and do believe that these relatives passed continue to live on somewhere within me, from the metaphorical sense to the biological. Multiple of these lineages have cultural skin marking practices and considering all humans have been feeling and making since the dawn of time, I’m sure my non inked tūpuna had varying kinds of creative inclinations too (as did yours). So, in a way I do see this creative practice as a form of inheritance, a bridge to converse with the ancestors. A way of relating that has brought deep value to my life, one that I feel dedicated to nurture in my own mokopuna one day.

Over the last 11 years I have tried a number of different ways to practice tat2, trying to find that delicate ever shifting medium between what someone else desires and what I am pulled to do regardless of another’s vision. Navigating this dance within the context of needing to make money to live has been challenging and I have been continuously learning what my limits are by overstepping them. I find it really difficult to know how to place a monetry value on my time and energy and simultaneously have been trying to make my work accessible to the varying financial circumstances that exist for people. It is hard to create one clear defined structure to guide people in the process when everyone, each collaboration, is truly such a unique case. Basically I haven’t landed on one way to do things yet, maybe I never will? God forbid- but I’ll outline some important things here if you are interested in coming to receive a marking.

Pre designed aka FLASH/

Send me the pieces you’re interested in and any information regarding how you see them on your body (if you have some idea of this) and your budget. If you’re not sure that’s chill, just let me know and we’ll have a conversation to see if we can find a path that feels good for both of us. More info found here on the avail design page.

CUSTOM/

I have a lot of different ways I like to draw, some movements/styles I go through phases of and each method has its own rules that I (mostly) tend to follow. Bear with me.

After creating many structures that were either too simple or too complicated to try navigate this process with people, I have decided to be open to hearing all ideas, whether you’re interested in a new or old style, and in turn will be really decisive about what ideas I take on. I will choose which projects to step into based on how excited I feel about them at the time, because this usually indicates a kind of passion>open channel>longevity which helps to do the business.

Please email me your idea in as much detail as possible inc reference images of my previous tat2s and why you like them,

photos your body, what size you’re imagining the tat2,

your budget,

where you’re located, any scheduling/time boundaries you have

and any other information you feel like sharing.

⭑ I like to have a whole uninterrupted day with someone to tat2. Please bring food, water and any other comforts you may want.

TRADE/

Message me pls would love to hear from you.

CONSULT/

Email to find a time to talk irl so we can make sure we’re on the same page. I recommend this for people wanting a custom marking and I charge $30 for this time.

TOUCH UP/

Email me re touch up pls, would love to do this for you. No charge but if you wanna send $20 for materials that would be rad.

POST TAT2 AFTERCARE/

There are lots of different opinions about how to best heal a tat2, this is what I’ve found works most effectively for me.

The first couple of days, twice a day (morning and night) wash the area with soap and water. Ideally a soap that is gentle and antibacterial, something like Dr. Bronners or a product designed for babies or tattoos specifically. Let the area air dry, so no rubbing it with a towel pls dear god.

The first couple of days this is all you need to do. We want the tat2 to settle, for the skin to breathe and to begin drying out a bit.

After a couple of days, if you feel like it, you can start applying some kind of gentle antibacterial cream. A lot of people use Bepathen, the chemist sometimes has a specific tattoo version but the baby one is og so either is good. I have had good results using coconut oil with a couple of drops of lavender, both of these are antibacterial and my skin is very familiar with them which helps. If you go this route please make sure the coconut oil is clean not like from a random jar in the kitchen.

A little moisturising product goes a long way- you don’t want to get the tat2 too moist otherwise the scabs can absorb too much water and fall off prematurely. When this happens they will pull some of the ink out of the skin which results in patchy healing and sometimes rogue scarring.

Please avoid swimming, itching, irritating clothing and direct sunshine on the area during this 2 week(ish) healing period. You know when the healing is finished once all of the scabs have dropped. The more peace and time the skin has to go through it’s normal healing process the better the tat2 will be.

TAT2/

contact form found below

Not a photographer, just like taking photos. I started filming on my ipod nano when I was 14 and came across my first automatic film camera just before moving to aus when I was 18. Most of the photos I’ve shared here were taken on a Chinon SLR which I found at a market in Melbourne, I’m obsessedddd and also to be real don’t really know how best to use it. Like, I don’t understand how to use the ISO and aperture settings in conjunction although I’ve tried to learn multiple times, so we are somewhat winging it. This is why a lot of my photos are noisey, plus going through airport xrays, cursed.

I’m not sure all of what is behind this impulse to visually record but can’t deny I feel totally encapsulated by this slow time film recording process. I seem to predominantly collect images of things I find beautiful, I believe these kinds of moments are always worth sharing/paying more attention to.

Over the last few years, for better or for worse, I’ve unfortunately become really unsure of taking photos of people. The air often becomes brittle once someone knows they’re being observed so the unencumbered moments are what interests me most; but how do I trust someone is okay with something if I haven’t asked? What power dynamics are in play that further shape the act of me photographing someone without their nod of approval? idk.

I have a habit of taking photos faster than I develop the film and enjoy processing my rolls by picking them at random, so most of the collections I’ve categorised here are missing some threads… tbc basically, will update the photos as I go.

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Currently living/loving in Ōtepoti aka Dunedin, Aotearoa

Will be in Naarm aka Melbourne for tat2 Oct/Nov 2025

rn8ae@outlook.com

@rn8ae on Signal (good for voice memos)