Passion and art. Two words almost indistinguishable from one another and both applicable to the tattoo artist Gabriele Giordano. There is no doubt when laying your eyes on Giordano’s distinctive tattooing that he is passionate about the work he does. In individuality, he is unparalleled and uncompromising, garnering influence from the world around him. From his first tattoo of an alien on his fathers leg to his current success as a well known tattooist, Giordano is the man you need when searching for timeless, individualistic body art. In this interview we reach out to Gabriele to discover the history and motivations that lie beneath his successful tattoo practice and aim to discover the inspirations which aided him in masterminding these exemplary works of art.

What first inspired you to become a tattoo artist?
Well, i got my first tattoo when i was only 14. I've always been attracted from this world and i was studying graphic, my parents at that time asked me many times if i wanted to become a tattooer but my answer was always "i'll never do it, too much responsibility". But then things changed.... i am here haha

And how old were you when you first tattooed another person?
I was 20yo and one day i was in the car with my mom and i suddenly felt the hurge to buy a machine as soon as i could. I was anxious about telling this to my mom, i don't know why, it was a huge and an important thing for me. I had a bit of saved money and i finally bought it. My first customer was my dad, he wanted to be the first one, he forced me. Knowing my dad's biggest ufo alien passion, i tattooed an alien on his leg. Amazing experience lol. I suddenly understood that tattooing was one of the few things that could really make me fully happy.

Your work is very distinct and hold’s ownership to a unique style. What are the influences behind your artistry?
There are a lot of influences behind my artistry. Travels, objects, friends, women, fashion, movies, books, galleries, people... everything mixed together. You always need to be craving for what there is around you, you never have to stop to discover new things and new places. I love to draw in the metro or taking pictures of people in transport.

““Tattooing was one of the few things that could really make me fully happy.””

And how did you develop this very individual creative style?
That's really hard to say. In the beginning i was mostly tattooing "ignorant" and "trash" things, black bold lines with subjects like sneakers, thieves, cars, cash, not because it was what i wanted to do, but because that was what people asked me to make. In the meantime i was already drawing my actual faces, people, situations, flowers, but no one was interested in them at that time. At some point i realized that what i wanted to tattoo was my drawings only. No trash drawings anymore, i didn't feel satisfied doing them, only my real stuff, only what i felt mine and only what was making me happy. I wanted to start to let my drawings live on someone's skin. I was doing mostly lines before and some unreal parts of body, as my old weird hands and weird feet, now i try to do everything more realistic in a way, and i am "scratching" a lot with the black. I feel i am growing month by month with my stuff, i love to experiment new things and see an evolution.

When creating a tattoo for a client, how much ‘creative input’ do you feel you have?
When I get a custom request, I always try to make it in my own style. I have to say I am pretty lucky on this, often, customers come to me with a general idea, then I have the freedom to interpret it in my way. So I would say normally I get 60% of the space to be creative.

Have you ever contemplated switching your drawing board from skin to canvas?
Never thought to switch. I always like to add, not switch or leave something for something else. If i am able to make more than one thing at the same time i am more than happy. But i am still learning to draw on canvas. It's not that easy, especially for the things that i want to make. I use thin lines in my drawing/tattoos, and i would like to get the same result on canvas.

How many tattoos do you personally have? Are there any interesting stories behind them?
I actually dont know the exact number, more or less 70. I have many tattoos with interesting stories behind, i could stay here telling you stories for days.. the most meaningful it's probably a cartoon portrait of myself leaving my crutches to the sky with some balloons. Got it in 2012 after 8 years of crutches for personal healthy problems while i was thinking to leave them forever. After 7 year, since last year i am in the same situation, again with a crutch, and everytime i look at it i have a bit of hope to leave it again one day.