QUEER TATTOO HISTORY / STORIES!

QUEER TATTOO HISTORY / STORIES!

”Queer Tattoo History / Stories” is a project centered on queer tattooing. Sara Swanson collects LGBTQI+ experiences related to tattooing; among others, she has interviewed LGBTQI+ people who got tattooed during the 1970s and 80s. Del LaGrace Volcano photographed the storytellers, and Yolanda Aurora Bohm Ramirez captured the audio, resulting in both an exhibition and a book: *Queer Tattoo History / Stories!

About the exhibition and book:

Sara Swanson has gathered tattoo-related memories through interviews with LGBTQI+ people who got tattooed during the 1970s and 80s, while photographer Del LaGrace Volcano has created portraits of the storytellers. The work captures fragments of LGBTQI+ lives and, as an act of preserving memory, contributes to the documentation of Swedish tattoo history.

Sara Swanson and Soledad Aznar Rodriguez opened StaDemonia Tattoo in Barcelona in 2005. Since the beginning, they have searched for other LGBTQI+ tattooers—both historical and contemporary—in Spain and Sweden. They work within an industry that has slowly begun to address issues such as heterosexism and racism over the past decade, yet still struggles with toxic culture in many ways. Since relocating to Stockholm, StaDemonia Tattoo has served as a platform for LGBTQI+ tattoo artists and tattoo enthusiasts. Working within an LGBTQI+ separatist framework—regarding the tattooers and other artists we invite to collaborate—allows us the peace and space to do what we love: tattooing.

Del LaGrace Volcano is a legendary photographer who has created and documented queer life internationally for over 50 years. Yolanda Aurora Bohm Ramirez—a poet, translator, and sound engineer, among many other things—has recorded audio and assisted during interviews.