28 Jun 2016

Tattoos are beautiful works of art that symbolise a phrase in a person’s life, says Christopher Phiri, a tattooist from Thamaga. 

Despite some beliefs that view tattoos as being unholy, Phiri views them as works that can brighten up a person’s life especially in sad moments.

The 23-year-old who has been doing this craft for more than six years and is currently based in South Africa said, he started his trade back in 2010, after witnessing a tattooist do some incredible art work on a client.

“The most interesting part about the whole scene was that both the client and tattooist seemed to be enjoying themselves, and this came as a shock to me because I thought the whole process of getting ink on one’s body should be painful, so I decided to try it too,” he said.

After consulting the tattooist, Phiri who is famously known as Chris Gudda made his first home made tattooing machine and started practicing on his own body. 

He explained that although the pain was a bit too much, he focused on the bigger picture which was to master this craft and share it with the rest of the world. He said just practicing without much knowledge was not enough, so he learnt from other professionals, which resulted in him searching for more information about everything to do with tattooing. 

This helped him understand all that was involved in the process.

“I had the chance to view tattooing tutorials and learned all the precautions that come with it but most of all, how to do a tattoo in a manner that will not harm the client’s health because that is the most important thing for any artist,” he said.

Phiri explained that it was important to do everything according to the book to avoid risking the client’s health and life.

Such precautions, he said, included using new needles and new ink cup for every client. He said it was also vital to ensure that a client witnessed that.

“I always make sure that my equipment are sterilised. Even though I am a mobile tattooist, I am very cautious about the environment I work in so I always make sure that it is clean and has cool temperatures to enable the smooth going of the process,” he said. 

This gift of art work has seen Phiri move from Botswana to South Africa where he continues to do magic with his hands. 

He said relocating to South Arica had worked well for him as his clientele had grown tremendously and was considered the best in the East London region where he is based.

“The love and feedback I receive each day is amazing, people love what I do and are always satisfied with my work. South Africa has more business opportunities as there are many people who are interested in tattoos as it is the in-thing,” he said.

Without any formal training in tattooing, Phiri pointed out that a talent does not always need formal educational background to prosper but rather, needs dedication and hard work. 

He mentioned that although he had never done art at school, he was coached by one of the best tattooists in South Africa to master his craft.

Although he does admit that business has since gone down after word spread that tattoos may be evil, he said he strongly believes that the ‘trade is pure art and has nothing to do with anything evil’. Ends