SRI LANKA: Tattoo Pioneer Kenny Adams - Modern Tattoo Studios & Equipment Supplies

The creative artist KENNY ADAMS from Sri Lanka started drawing already as a child, initially with pens and brushes on paper. Time passed, he kept on painting, but meanwhile preferably on human skin. Starting out as a single tattoo artist, he has built up an entire collective and network over the years under MODERN TATTOO, which currently consists of four studios around the country, they are in Negombo, Ella, Arugambay and Hiriketiya. Additionally he also runs a supply service for equipment and tools for provision to other tattoo studios. We spoke to the versatile artist in an interview about the tattooing, the development of his projects and his vision for Sri Lanka’s tattoo culture.

KENNY is not only traveling all over the country, but also worldwide. He gains experience at other tattoo studios as a resident around the globe, and foreign tattoo artists can also visit his studios in Sri Lanka to be residents there for a period of time. But when we arrived in mountainous Ella on the legendary train ride during our trip through Sri Lanka, luckily KENNY was also there in his studio. It’s not just a studio, further more the whole building is a really idyllic creative space. It is also the hostel called ELLA TREE HOUSE, where you can stay overnight and relax on a hammock, eat well, chill and enjoy, and as KENNY’s tattoo studio is in there, you can also get a cool tattoo. Or a fancy piercing. There are as well cool paintings around the whole hostel, most of them made by KENNY.

We only wanted to make a short stopover in Ella, but KENNY and his friends, together with the simply mega cool atmosphere in the TREE HOUSE, with a funny time and special moments, it had to be that we ended up spending a few more days there. We conducted an interview with KENNY about his activities in the tattoo world, but also about his creativity in general. He is over all very active in many different fields, he paints pictures on canvas, he does street art murals, he builds sculptures out of wood or metal and decorates festivals with his artist colleagues. Still the main focus is on tattooing. It was a really good time with KENNY and apart from the interview and the great respect for his creative work, he became a good friend. Thanks KENNY for the good time and your help Bro! Grateful and appreciated! If you readers are also in Ella one day, you should definitely visit the ELLA TREE HOUSE!

Here is the audio of the interview before and while he was doing a new tattoo. If you want to listen, listen to it. If you prefer to read, you can find the written interview below. In between are countless photos of great tattoos done by KENNY ADAMS and the crew around him from MODERN TATTOO. He is a pioneer in the field and has big plans for the tattoo scene in Sri Lanka. A fantastic tattoo convention is planned with more networking, also more events and maybe one day even their own tattoo supply brand. With instruments tried and tested by him and local artists and which would manufacture tattoo equipment directly in Sri Lanka. Listen or read, the photos speak for themselves. At the end in the Infothek you can find all links to the studios, the involved artists and the tattoo network.

Listen to <a href="https://hearthis.at/radio-x-interviews/kenny-adams/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KENNY ADAMS – Tattoo, Paintings & Sculptures – MODERN TATTOO – Equipment Supply – Ella – [ SRI LANKA ]</a> by<a href="https://hearthis.at/radio-x-interviews/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radio X Interviews</a> on <a href="https://hearthis.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearthis.at</a>

Hello listeners, we have again a very interesting interview for you. This time it’s about tattoo art and piercing. I’m sitting in the tattoo studio of Kenny Adams and he’s the owner of Modern Tattoo, which is on the one hand a tattoo agency with three different studios around Sri Lanka, and as well it is a tattoo supply company which is called Modern Tattoo Supplies. He is a tattoo artist himself, but he also provides other tattoo studios with equipment. We are in Ella at the moment, at one of his studio places and he will tell us the story about his art and his tattooing. Hello, Kenny. When did you begin doing tattoo and how did it come that you said you start a whole tattoo business?

Hi, nice to see you in Sri Lanka. Since I was a kid I used to do a lot of artwork at school, also I was going to competitions. I’m the person who did a lot of art, all kind of art which I learned. At that time of course not tattoos yet, but those kind of painting and art competitions in school. First it was like painting with a pen on paper. Like canvas drawing or like when you had to paint places. Just the things you do especially at school. Because my father is also an artist and my grandfather, he has a really nice handwriting. So I think it comes with that. So, and then when I was a bit older I actually started tattooing because I just wanted to get a tattoo on myself and I wanted to do it myself with a tattoo machine. So my mom, she bought me a tattoo machine. Or let’s say she sent me money to get a tattoo machine. So I bought a tattoo machine and I did my first tattoo on my back right here.

So this is what you did first and it was on yourself?

Yeah, that’s my first tattoo I did it for practicing just like this. So that’s how the tattoo part actually started. So after that I’ve been learning about tattoos and different kinds of products. Then I was working in aviation for some time, but still I was doing tattoo as a part-time job in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. And then when I came back to Sri Lanka I also started with tattoo supplies. I opened the first studio in Negombo and that’s how it started with tattoo products. Also because in Sri Lanka the tattoo industry just started kind of, so there was a lack of tattoo suppliers and knowledge about tattoos. And I was already going to international competitions and these kind of things like tattoo conventions in other countries. So I was learning a lot from those other tattoo artists from abroad and could bring it to Sri Lanka.

In the beginning you did paintings and then you started to do tattoos just by your own. So when you started this business, it was more about supplying other studios in the beginning?

Yeah, it was more about tattoo supplying because in Sri Lanka there wasn’t enough tattoo supply companies and those people around here they were really good artists. But they checked from like YouTube and they learned things from there. And they are really good and adapted fast, but the products were just not available in Sri Lanka. So I got the idea about that I need to get really good quality products. And because I’m an artist so I can test the product myself and I can recommend them. That way I can get the best products to use for the tattoos and for the other tattoo artists. So, and then I started with my own apprentice, and now they are my colleagues, so they still work with me. We test every product, everything, and then we see, okay, this product is good for using, maybe it’s more precise, or like the ink is more like stable or the pigments are better. So now with the technology, there’s a lot of different kind of products you can select from. So we get only these like few brands of the best companies. And we import them from US, from Europe countries, India, and China.

So it’s not like that somebody is just buying something via the internet, because you’re really professional. You know what you buy, you test it yourself, you can share your experience and you can tell others, look what we are selling. We are convinced about the product and we know it because we tested it.

Yes, exactly. We are trying the products all the time with our artists, not just one, also with my closest clients or my friends. So we give them samples, like if you get a new manufacturing needle, there are samples from the companies. So we give it for tests and if there is anything, we also give the companies feedback. Okay, the needle is like this, it should be more like this. You know, that kind of thing. And now, a lot of people know about the products to buy for real tattooing and for professional tattooing studios. So yeah, that also made a difference in the last few years because now there are around more than five times the artist that have been five years ago.

So you played an important role for the scene around the country to get the equipment to the artists and you brought it for the whole island. You are a big factor to bring this on the next level.

Yeah, that was the idea. Because as an artist, when I went to take my first tattoo machine, I didn’t have any knowledge. That was just like watching YouTube videos or asking other artists. And there are some people, they don’t like tattoos around here at that time. Also because it was just starting with tattoos and in Sri Lanka it’s more like culture and like these things. But now the new generation they understand tattoo and that it is about art. It’s not about like being a model or a criminal or like these kinds of things. So now it’s more like art and fashion mostly. Now people change and also the product has changed. So it’s a lot nicer to work now with best quality products and you get the best results when you use the good material for the tattoos.

I spoke also with other artists, with painter, graffiti artists and airbrush artists from Sri Lanka. They all said there is a new generation now. Before, art in general, it was very focused only on traditional art, like exclusively stories from history, culture and religion. And those topics got painted on the walls or maybe used for tattoo and for canvas. But now it’s changing a bit, and there are a lot more different street artworks with modern styles, like the one you made here on the wall of the studio for example. So I think the new generation of artists, they still use the history and the traditional elements but they combine it with various modern styles.

Yeah, that’s true. It’s really nice because in Sri Lanka we have a whole lot of history about Buddhism, all these different kind of art, like really ancient drawings, you know, like really nice, really colorful artworks, like in the temples and everything from our past. We do not lose that, we just put these kinds of things into modern designs and we also do a lot of Sri Lankan traditional custom designs. So it’s like the masks and all these instruments you see all the time around. We put it into drawings in the details and also into tattoos. But yet, the Sri Lankan traditional designs should be in a modern way because people don’t like those old designs anymore. It has to come in a different form, like a modern form, that’s the idea they like. Everything gets drawn on iPads and we use modern styles, but we also integrate traditional and authentic Sri Lankan styles and themes.

But you do it in a new way, in a new different way. Or if somebody wants to have it in the old way, you can do this as well.

Yes, sure, we can do everything. But I think the Sri Lankan drawings are still more a little bit modern in some way. So what the customers today want mostly. But we also have the really old generation symbols and this kind of stuff. And we also have really detailed ones, like detailed drawings from around 2.000 years ago. Those are really detailed and even photorealistic. In Sigiriya you can find it a lot, but Sigiriya is not even like that old comparing to a few other places where they have stories like in Egypt, but written about Buddhism on the walls like as a whole story. So you can just read the whole story about something on a wall. And some people also have it as tattoos on their bodies.

We are now here in the studio in Ella but like we said before you have also a studio in Afongamba and one in Negombo. So in Negombo was the first studio?

Yes, that’s where we had the main studio and the main tattoo supply studio from the beginning. And Negembo is going to stay the main store, like the warehouse place. And yeah, we’re going to distribute the tattoo supplies all over Sri Lanka. That’s why we also want to have more tattoo studios in different places like Colombo and in the East Coast, around down south, in middle of the country like Ella and maybe also in Hirikatiya or in Jaffna, so like south and north. So there will be even more studios coming. People can get things easily and now there are a lot of artists and newcomers. And they’re really talented and of course they also will need equipment. Also after time everyone has changed their mentality about tattoos. Nowadays, most of the people and especially the parents, they like tattoos now and they keep having tattoos. 10 years before, if you had a tattoo, you go home, they would kick you out of the house. Why do you have a tattoo!?! But now things have changed. People have understood it’s about art, and they love it. And it’s okay. Also lots of women have tattoos nowadays.

You just said before, your mother even bought you the tattoo machine. So she was very open for this?

Yes, she supported me. Besides Sri Lankan we are also Dutch and speak English at home. Also she has traveled a lot around the world, so she knows about different cultures and she is more understanding about that.

So there are three tattoo studios at the moment and you’re the boss or the founder, but how many people are you with the whole team?

We have two apprentices in training now and we have almost seven artists working including me. There is also my girlfriend who is a tattoo artist, she is from Finland. And we also have a lot of guest artists coming here and visiting Sri Lanka. We also do seminars like a kind of tattoo institute and we teach the techniques and how to use the instruments. It’s like a tattoo training institute. As well we hire people as new apprentice and we get them to our tattoo studios to work.

Really good! Creative art and tattoo education.

Yeah. And we also learn a lot of things from the foreign artists, especially from the US and from European countries, they’re really talented. When they come here, we do seminars and we teach the other tattoo artists or my friends. We call them and we say like, there’s this artist here and he’s going to do a seminar, like a one day seminar or like a workshop. Then others can come and learn something. So we also do that and we’re going to do more of these kinds of things after we have a few more studios. If other tattoo artists from all around the world, if they’re traveling to Sri Lanka they’re most welcome to come and work with us or to do seminars with us about tattooing. They can also work in the studios of course.

So here in Ella there are not only the cooking classes, which a lot of the tourists do, but there are also tattoo classes.

Yes, there are also tattoo classes. We do tattoo classes in Ella and Negombo nowadays and in Arugambwe the season is starting then we’re gonna have a tattoo studio there. Like a tattoo institute but this is mainly around the Colombo area because most of the population lives around Colombo and they want to have tattoos. Colombo is of course more moving and developing than the rest of the country, because it’s the capital.

The tattoos you do, you said you can do everything. So if somebody has a special wish, you can do it. But how would you describe your own personal style? What do you like tattooing most?

I like to do black and gray realism tattoos like portraits. The other things are mostly done by my apprentice. I prefer my stuff like a lot of my colleagues and I mostly like to do really fine lines with dot work details like Sri Lanka traditional style or like some custom design. That’s what I really like to do. And I’m also working a lot of on black and gray realism. I also want to advance that style with more details. Usually I do most of the kind of styles too, it depends on the clients, the time or who is available. But what I like to do is black and grey realism and fine line with dot board shading.

In the beginning you actually started with drawing and painting, later on there came also tattoo but you still kept on painting. We’re sitting in your tattoo studio in Ella and on the walls there are several really beautiful artworks. Especially behind you there is a special big one and this mural shows really good what we were talking about just before. Because it’s an ancient king and warrior legend, and you painted it in your own modern style.

Yes, exactly. That’s a good mix of the modern and traditional styles. I also do wall paintings a lot. We have a group of my friends, so we do like art and music festivals. We do artworks for the music events, like all the decorations, all the artworks, everything. So we also do that kind of things. And graffiti we have done in Colombo or in Katunayake, like in these places. And this one here, it’s a concept of an ancient king from the mythology of Sri Lanka. This is not in the books and really ancient, but almost forgotten. So we bring all these things back to the modern world. It’s about these old and new ideas, everything is about imaginations and all the details. And I bring it into my art.

When you do these murals on the wall or when you do artworks for the festivals, how do you create them? Do you do this with spray cans or airbrush or with brushes?

With brushes and spray cans, I mostly just use that. Or like the different kind of textures you can use. Like sponges for textures and fabric painting. Like the roofings and those things I do with fabric. So basically I use everything. Everything we find, also metal or wood. Especially like all the unwanted metal, the rusty metal. We buy it from places and we build 3d models and such things. So that’s like metal art and we also do sculptures. We combine all this metal and weld it and then we make huge 3d structures too. That’s also me and my friend. He is a genius in that. So I also do those artworks with him. And that’s also a different kind of art. You can see most of those artworks like in hotels or resorts. Even in Colombo in Port City, there is this huge peacock artwork. It’s completely made of metal pieces. So everything we can find, we bring into art. You always see something in it, some details, we add something in those. Also like this here, that’s like a wooden artwork, like from a tree, and this here is made from a pistachio tree.

So you also do wooden sculptures? Like wood carving?

Yes, but I don’t do it very often, because with my timings for tattoos and I am really busy with that. When you go to do tattoos, you just sit there for hours. So I don’t get that much of time, but I used to do those wooden sculptures also.

Okay, so the main part is the tattoo, but you are very diverse, there are a lot of different things. There is tattoo, there is painting, there is drawing, there is wall painting, there is sculpture with metal, sculpture with wood, so a lot of different creative fields. So that means you get some ideas and some inspiration, and then you just do that style or type of art?

Mostly nowadays someone asks me to do it or like someone wants to buy it from me. They tell me, okay this kind of thing, we want something like this. So then we do it with metal art, with painting, with wooden art or whatever they want. I also have a collection of drawings at my home and in my studios. But recently I don’t really get time to draw on canvas. At the moment I’m more into tattoos. But in general about art and being creative, whenever I get time, whenever I find a goal, I’m just going to do something.

It’s about the time. Because there’s not unlimited time, you have to focus on something. But like you described, you like to do a lot of things, so you can have fun with wood, with metal, with paintings. With all those various artworks, did you also have exhibitions?

Not recently. I think when I was younger I used to go to art events. I did one exhibition, but then I was 19 years old. So after that, not anymore yet. I would need a collection of artworks. But I usually work with my friends on art or decorations for those festivals. So maybe in the next future, we’re planning to do a tattoo event in Sri Lanka, like an actual tattoo convention. The tattoo conventions are really new to Sri Lanka, so we want to introduce them. And then we’re going to have more space for other artworks, like a flea market and an area for your own crafts, like things made by hand from craftsmen. Everyone can join and they can show their own creations and what they built and their different kinds of crafts. So this is a plan for the future, with music and tattoos and artworks. Then we can showcase all the different kind of artworks and how building those, like having workshops so visitors can see how they do the wooden art and how they do the metal art. That’s something we are planning on this end of this year or next year for sure.

Very cool! So you said it’s something new. Was there a tattoo convention already or would this be the first one?

We had a few tattoo conventions. The first tattoo convention was in 2017. I was also there as a tattoo supplier. And that was the first one, so seven years ago. Then I moved to Los Angeles in 2019 and there were three tattoo conventions. Those were really great. But here was not much going on. In Sri Lanka we also a few other people who are organizing events, but it’s more about art and other things, not about tattoo. And then there are smaller events, but those are more like just tattoo competitions. I want to do a real proper tattoo convention, not like a tattoo competition and then they give prizes to everyone. I want to do something bigger where you can see the art and how you do it and everything about it. Also people can come and get tattooed. And of course, there’s also going to be a tattoo competition. But it will be more combined with other different kinds of art and crafts. So you can see actual people who make Sri Lankan traditional art and also modern art. These things will also be very famous because it’s really hard to find traditional art nowadays. Or let’s say modern made traditional art. So these kind of events could really change the side of the art and the traditional aspects, combined with tattoos and nowadays everyone likes tattoos and drawings. I don’t know how many people really like to buy drawings for a huge amount, but there are people who want to. So I want to bring all these things together to one place with a festival or a convention with tattoo, paintings, music, drawings, metal art, just everything creative.

Those events you mentioned, you said it was a competition, so it was more like a battle. Similar to a hip-hop battle, but with tattoos, so a tattoo battle. Who is the better one, and then they got prizes. But what you want to do is more like a fair, or a tattoo convention, but an art fair, which shows the people what exists and what is possible, and how many different styles and genres are around.

Yes, that’s true and that’s my idea. All different kind of artistic people can join in, but it’s going to be a tattoo convention. There are also kind of art conventions but I’ve never seen tattoos at those events. At those conventions they don’t consider tattoo into art yet. With my concept what I’m thinking is more about tattoos and then additionally also about other arts, because it all goes together anyway. It’s just different how you do it, like on a different surface or with a different material or style. But it’s all art. Still one of the most difficult arts is actually doing tattoos. Drawing on a canvas is okay, but drawing on a skin it’s really different and you need to really be sure. You should not make any kind of mistakes, because you can’t erase it anymore or over paint it like with other arts. On the wall or on the canvas, you can paint over it and try it again. But on the skin you can’t. I think one of the riskiest artworks you can do is on someone’s skin.

We just spoke about the tattoo and about the tattoo supply, but you also have piercing and piercing supply for piercing studios.

Yes, mostly in Negombo we do piercing. Meanwhile piercing is also really trendy in Sri Lanka. And we have separate artists especially for piercings. So they are specialized in piercing, and know everything about the hygiene and the special needles. And they know everything about piercing and body modification. Body modification is going to be the next step, but people haven’t embraced this yet in Sri Lanka. You know, like all the cutting, doing all the ears, doing modification, like tunnels, all these different kind of things I’ve seen on the road. But here it’s not popular yet. Body modification can be the next step we are going to try after tattooing. Of course while we are also doing tattoos and piercing, we want to add body modifications. It’s going to be like a different subject and we want to add this. We haven’t tried it yet, but we are thinking about also doing all the body modification stuff.

Of course it depends if people want it. But if somebody wants it, then we have more customers.

There are some people who like modifications and now they just started in Sri Lanka doing it. But of course it’s not as much as tattoos. But when it’s growing and when they see it all the time, it’s going to happen the same thing what happened with the tattoos. Now they see tattoos everywhere and now the old mindset is gone. So it’s like when they see body modification, they’re going to start liking those things more. But yeah, that’s a different subject to learn. It’s another level and a whole new thing.

Let’s got back to piercing and tattoo and to the equipment you use. So which are at the moment the main brands which you’re working with? Which one can you recommend?

I can recommend Kwadron. They have the best needles from Germany and then FYG, which is from Canada and USA. And then we have Nordic Tattoo Supplies, they are present in northern countries around Finland and most of the people in Europe use this brand. It’s really very good. Also Darwincy, the brand by Bishop. That’s one different kind of needle type, also really good. And Elmella, it’s from China, but they have premium needles and really good quality. Also those are less expensive, comparing to the European brands, but it’s really good quality. China also builds really good tattoo supplies nowadays. So yeah, we are mostly working with these brands for needles. Also Lance and Deconley, but Kwadron is one of the best brands with really good needles. We use those mostly. And the ink, most of them are from the USA from Intense Dynamic and from world famous Radiant Extreme. So all the best brands and I’m very cool with those.

So you are in contact with the brands and you get the products directly from the factory?

Yes, we get it directly from the source. And also the needles and most of the equipment. We are authorized dealer for few of these brands. So those products we also get directly from the source. So of course that means we are up to date about everything, all new equipment they have, all new inventions and new products. So we know immediately because they inform us directly. And it’s good to be using these instruments myself also, so I know more about the products. Every time I try something new, everything is advanced. The next year, the machines are way more smooth than nowadays. And the next five years, I think things are going to be even way more easier. It will be even easier to do the tattoos with the supplies we’re going to get the next five years. So things are going to change. Every time it’s about change and you need to try all the products and all the different kinds of techniques, so you learn. You can do better small details that you really want to have. Then you understand, okay, the pattern is like this, but it should be like this next time. But now the machines we use at the moment are already really smooth.

You never know how it will develop. Maybe later you have some kind of laser or whatever to do the tattoos.

I think they already tried this experiment on doing tattoos with laser, but it’s not as 100% success as a tattoo artist is doing the work with needles. Because you’re doing it with the light skin and even if the client just moves a little bit or if there is something with the laser it can actually affect the result. The tattoo has to be in the third skin layer and if you go below it then you could injure the body and damage the skin. And also with the details, I don’t think the computers or these machines can do that kind of detail. Maybe in the next future. But that would be also interesting and bring more competition, but competition with the robots.

We never know what will happen in the future because things are changing fast and a lot. Tell me a little bit about some of your tattoo artist colleagues or other famous tattoo artists from Sri Lanka. And tell me how you think that the tattoo culture developed in the last years.

I think in the last ten years, things have changed really fast. Before that, we called it pacha. We don’t even called it tattoos. So pacha is like the old version of tattoos. Also it was made by not using the best equipment or the best techniques. But we call it pacha because pacha means in Tamil “green color”. When the tattoo heals, it gives a little bit like a green color tone. Earlier most of the people didn’t like tattoos at all, like 10 years before. But now people consider it more like art and now there are products and people see it on social media all the time. And now they know it’s not hurting anymore, or at least not much. People are actually scared of getting a tattoo because it hurts. They think that it’s going to hurt like crazy but it’s not. And now the machines and everything are very smooth. So it’s like 50% less painful for the making the tattoo today compared to doing tattoos with the older machines. My colleagues, they also self-learned a lot. They have been in the tattoo conventions and like LEO, Michael and ELLI, they are really good. ELLI is from Finland and she also does tattoos, she has a tattoo studio there named ART & SOUL. And I am also planning to work in Finland as well. I have worked in Finland before and I like learning from different countries and from different kind of styles. There is still a lot more to learn. We are continuously learning about tattoos and my colleagues always exchange ideas. If any of sees something new, we just send it to each other, like the information on Instagram and then we can check on it and then we talk about it. Like okay, this technique is made with different kind of needles and so on. So we like learning and we keep on developing. It stays interesting.

You help a lot to make this tattoo culture and this art style growing around the country, because you bring in the equipment and support others with knowledge. So for sure in the future there will be a lot more tattoo studios, a lot more tattoo artists and a lot more tattoos in general. That’s great. So if people listen now to this interview and they immediately want to check something, how can they find you on the internet?

They can check on Modern Tattoo. We have Instagram pages for the studios Modern Tattoo Ella, Modern Tattoo Negombo and Modern Tattoo Arugambe. So those pages are for the studios, as well we have pages for Modern Tattoo Supply which is the supply page and for the tattoo tools. They can find everything there about tattoo equipment. Besides Instagram we also have a website for the supply. That’s www.moderntattoo.com, but the website is still on work in progress. We are still constructing and we’re going to have an online store for products, so others can buy their products online, they can order everything there and we can send it to them. At first it is still in Sri Lanka, but we developing it. We are also thinking about manufacturing our own tattoo products because none of the tattoo products are manufactured in Sri Lanka. So we also need to start tattoo manufacturing and making tattoo products here. That would be also a next step to start manufacturing local tattoo equipments in Sri Lanka. Especially needles and this kind of stuff. So maybe we can even design our own brand. To produce locally would be really important, because at the moment everything has to be imported, which makes it very expensive for the artists. We want to give them high quality products and also a good brand so they could buy Sri Lankan products. That would also help the Sri Lankan economy somehow. It helps people and it’s a good aspect to manufacture those things directly in Sri Lanka. Maybe we can even export later to other countries. I’ve been thinking about needle manufacturing in the next year’s future.

It will stay very excited. After Corona and the pandemic period there was no tourism at all for some while, but it’s starting again and there are a lot more tourists around. Also a lot of tourists who want to get tattoos. So it’s not only for the Sri Lankan people. It’s as well that a lot of tourists combine their holidays with getting a cool skin decoration.

Yes, of course. We do Sri Lankan traditional things and whatever they like. I think most of the travelers want to get something from each country they travel to as a memory. We are also doing a lot of Sri Lankan designs and we want to give our visitors high quality service. The products we are using are high quality products. Especially for the European people it is different, because I think in Europe the studios look quite different. From Asia, comparing everything is like this studio here. So we also want to do that kind of studio and high-quality products and high-quality services for tourists, like people who visit Sri Lanka. And I think that would be also really good because in your countries, I think you have to wait for maybe a few months to get an appointment. There are very popular artists and you have to wait a while. But we also have a lot of really good artists in Sri Lanka but they’re not famous around the world. So our work can also give Sri Lanka a lot of help with knowing more about upcoming artists, like really good artists. It would be great to let the whole world know about Sri Lankan tattoo artists. A lot of people can get tattoos in Sri Lanka easily and fast by booking appointments and there are a lot of artists who are really talented.

I think a very good opportunity would be to go to this coming tattoo convention, which will be maybe next year. So the people can follow your social media channels and there they will get all the new information updates. And if there’s an event or something, you will post it there.

Yes, that convention will be great. We mostly use Instagram for recent postings because you can also see the works and we post it on Instagram with the links to all the different studios, the supplies and the tattoo events. And this big event, it’s going to be a Sri Lankan tattoo convention. And because it will be the first of its kind, therefore it’s going to be a new invention of Sri Lankan tattoo culture and the idea about a real tattoo convention and how tattooing works. So it’s going to be something different, something more about the art and the techniques.

Really exciting and very interesting! Kenny, thank you very much for the interview. It was great talking to you!

Thanks, for me it was cool too. It was a great pleasure meeting you. It’s really nice that you did this interview about Sri Lanka and the tattoo culture and the local art culture. We appreciate letting people know about Sri Lanka, about the art, about the traditional drawings and our culture. So it’s really important to let people know about us and also Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country. Everyone should visit. So thank you very much for you for doing this interview and getting information for the listeners and readers to know about Sri Lanka. If you come to Sri Lanka, then visit us in our studios! We have tattoo places in Negombo, Ella, Arugambay and now also in Hiriketiya.