"The first stick-and-poke tattoo I inked was on my mom,” said Aaradhya, a 20-year-old machine-free tattoo artist, as she dipped a needle with ink to tattoo her next client. The self-taught Aaradhya’s tryst with stick-and-poke tattoos started about a year ago.
Her love for this style of tattooing has only escalated with time, as it has for the twelve other artists who participated in the Capital’s first-ever hand-poke tattoo festival, an event that took place at Poochki Table, a restaurant in Shahpur Jat, over the weekend.
Coming together for their love for the art of tattooing, this festival witnessed an “overwhelming response” from Delhi-NCR’s ink enthusiasts, who wanted to experiment with the technique that is resurging in popularity.
The stick-and-poke form is a preferred technique for various tribes and communities across cultures. Having a rich legacy, this manual-poking process of tattooing is having a moment, with artists devising their unique styles of inking.
“There is a sense of peace and joy that comes with poking,” shared Hardik Gulati (21), another self-taught artist.
A collaborative experience
The event, organised by Shreya Josh (25), a leading stick-and-poke artist, was an attempt to carve a space for machine-free tattoo artists to bring this technique forward. “We focused on making the event a learning experience for all artists so they could experiment with their styles,” said Josh.
She began poking [a term used by stick-and-poke tattoo artists] in 2015 when she was studying in Chicago. Even though it has been a part of a few indigenous cultures across the world, including India, Josh realised the potential this art could have on the urban Indian population. This is when she decided to take it up as a full-time career, promoting it across the country.
Along with other experienced artists, the event also welcomed individuals who have ventured into this industry. Mansi Maheshwari (22), who started poking about six months ago, credits the community for helping her learn stick and poke.
“I just DMed [direct messaged] them on Instagram to understand the process, and they were kind enough to help,” she said.
“Artists, both experienced and newcomers, have participated in the festival. It is a nice space of exchange in terms of knowledge for all of them,” shared Ishanee Mukherjee, who co-runs Poochki Table.
A female-led initiative
When Shreya had just begun hand-poking, it was widely considered as a technique that is particularly suited for women [since they have delicate skin and it probably would be easier to hand-poke].
“It was called ‘cute’ like it’s a women-only thing,” laughed Josh.
This has obviously changed over the last few years as machine-free tattoos have gained immense admiration among ink enthusiasts. Artists, irrespective of their gender or orientation, have started adopting the hand-poke technique given the accessibility and ease of the process.
“The electronic tattoo industry is mostly dominated by men. However, the stick-and-poke tattoo space is female dominated, which I think is great,” commented Aaradhya.
ORIGINS OF THE STYLE
The hand-poke form of tattoo has its roots in indigenous cultures and has been practised by a few tribes and communities across the world.
With its origins in the underground scene, stick-and-poke tattooing is resurging in popularity. In hand-poking technique, a sterilised needle is dipped in ink and poked repeatedly into the skin. This is a relatively cost-effective tattoo process and is also considered less painful.
SAFETY COMES FIRST
Just like electric tattoo, the stick-and-poke tattoo should be done by a professional artist who uses sterilised equipment. Talking to us about the safety aspect of this technique, Dr Rashmi Sarkar, MD-Dermatology, and Director Professor of Lady Hardinge Medical College, says, “Honestly, this is a recent concept and although it may look very cool, it can have health concerns of all kinds of infections if not done by a proper tattoo artist. One has to be cautious since we still don’t know much about these
non-electric tattoos.”