MONDIAL DU TATOUAGE

MAUD DARDEAU

Tattoo artist, painter and illustrator within the Jeanspezial collective since its foundation, Maud Dardeau operates in a creative and diverse environment, surrounded by friends who are painters, typographers, designers and sculptors. In 2010, Tin-tin took Maud under his wing for her tattoo apprenticeship; she stayed there for six years, before going her own way in Bordeaux. Passionate about line work and influenced by the art of Gustave Doré and Albrecht Dürer, her tattoo style naturally gravitated towards the engraving aesthetic. Over time, tattooing made its mark itself in her work as a painter. She addresses many themes in the form of engraving: religion, mythology, floral and animal themes, but also pop culture and Japanese art, which remains the basis of her inspiration - both in her themes and for her composition. In 2022, she participated in the Loire Art Show with the creation of a 30-meter stained glass dragon mural. In April 2024 she gave a Live Tattoo Performance in the Albrecht Dürer Museum for the exhibit “Dürer under your skin” in Nuremberg, Germany. She will now bring together her two passions of painting and tattooing for an exhibit at the Mondial du Tatouage 2025.

Guen Douglas

Guen Douglas, tattoo artist and graphic designer with over twenty years of experience, will showcase the art of the poster. An incredible journey through time and color. Guen Douglas' artistic expression is undeniably fluid. Although we associate her tattooing with the neo-traditional style, she ultimately manifests a vast palette of styles - mixing old school, illustrative, art nouveau, and sometimes even cartoon and blackwork. She insists that “creativity has no constraints.” However, if there is a common thread to which Guen can agree, it is the retro quality of his work, both in its aesthetic and in her various cultural nods. Her work often gravitates towards the concept of the past, which evokes memories, contextualizes the present, creates nuance, and adds meaning to the art of our day. This retro touch stands out in her numerous posters - dare we call it an ode to the 20th century - the Belle Époque and the Roaring Twenties, Beatles-style psychedelia, rock and country vintage from the 70s, Miami neon from the 80s , or even industrial design from East Berlin… A true journey of popular inspirations over time.

ISABELLA STABILE

Artist from Rome, Isabella Stabile has devoted herself to illustration for 5 years. Self-taught in her training, she draws her inspiration from American, Japanese and European comics and illustrators; horror, fantasy, and science fiction films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s; and finally, rock and metal music. She is particularly fascinated by album covers and film posters which give more power to the work in question - sometimes becoming iconic in their own right. Isabella's work therefore seeks to recapture the same framework and atmosphere as the art in which she was raised. She experiments a lot with styles - in aesthetic references as well as in tools, using acrylic, watercolor, airbrush, ink and pencil, in a single painting. All to create fun, stimulating paintings, (very) far out in the space-time continuum.

Horimono Shashin

From the second half of the 19th century, Japan opened up to the Western world, introducing it to a fascinating practice - that of tattooed bodies in complex and polychromatic patterns. Foreign travelers bore witness to the practice of horimono, referring to traditional tattooing in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). At the same time, travelers' enthusiasm for colorized photos brought the of new tourist photography workshops (Yokohama shashin) which flourished in commercial ports open to foreigners. Alongside the iconic geisha, the figure of the tattooed man embodied a new expression of masculinity in the eyes of Westerners, that of the samurai having fallen out of favor after the Meiji Restoration. Because at that time, tattooed people, coming from the working class, were mainly men, whether they were firefighters, carpenters, stable boys, or couriers. Still visible in public spaces, they exhibit their singularity, which the new Meiji government forbade in 1872 to meet the standards of Victorian morality. These photographic portraits of tattooed people bear witness to a now forgotten social and cultural phenomenon, that of a unique popular identity which has marked the history of tattooing and that of Japan.

JEE SAYALERO

The exhibition "Take Me Back to Me" is a unique collection of Chinese ink screen prints and sculptures that adorn icons from classic animated series with Japanese horimono motifs. Inspired by the phrase, "To each era, its art. And to each art, its freedom," this exhibition highlights the fusion of nostalgia and modernity, where each piece serves as a canvas without erasure. "Take Me Back to Me" captures the essence of art as an unrestricted form of expression. Its tattoos act as both liberators and protectors of human essence, challenging false modesty with irony and satire aimed at what many consider untouchable. It offers a unique and powerful perspective at the crossroads of cultures and styles, inviting viewers to rediscover the essence of art and their own memories.