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.
Welcome to see the exhibition Queer Tattoo History / Stories. 18/1-15/2 Thursday-Saturday at 13-19 hs at the newly opened Southside Gallery in Högdalen (Högdalsgången 43 opposite the Coop). And especially welcome to the finissage and celebration of the book that now exists in this world,...
Welcome to the exhibition Queer Tattoo History / Stories, at the newly opened Southside Gallery in Högdalen (Högdalsgången 43, in front of Coop)! Can be seen 18/1-15/2 Thur-Sat 1-7 pm. Vernissage Saturday 18/1 with a day filled with talks and conversations and an evening filled...
PERFORMANCE by PUNK LETTERS!SATURDAY 18/1 at 9 p.m PUNK LETTERS is a band with an undecided never of members. The show is messy and grimy. A punk love letter with a message of revolution. A Rock-opera that meets crust punk. Burning flames. Nasty proposals. Ritual powers....
DJ: YOLANDA AURORA BOHM RAMIREZSATURDAY 18/1 at 9.30 p.m Yolanda Aurora Bohm Ramirez has worked with the project Queer Tattoo History / Stories as sound technician and support during the interviews. In addition to sound technician, Yolanda is a poet, spoken word artist, trans activist, translator,...
CONVERSATION with SARA SWANSON, DEL laGRACE VOLCANO and YOLANDA AURORA BOHM RAMIREZLÖRDAG 18/1 kl 17.00 Sara Swanson tells about the project Queer Tattoo Histories / Stories, its background and process. In conversation with Del laGrace Volcano who has portrayed the storytellers and Yolanda Aurora Bohm Ramirez...
LECTURE by RIKKE ANDREASSENSATURDAY 18/1 at 3pm At the turn of the twentieth century, a medical doctor researched tattoos among poor, marginalized women in Copenhagen. While most women had the name of their male lover engraved, quite a high number had the name of their female...
LECTURE by HELENA MEYERSATURDAY 18/1 at 3pm (in English) In this lecture, Helena Meyer sheds new light on the history of tattooing. With the help of articles from Swedish newspapers from two centuries, archival material and old debates in criminology she points out that all that...
Save the date, more info to come! Welcome to the vernissage Saturday 18/1 at the new Southside Gallery in Högdalen -a day filled with talks and lectures and an evening filled with performance and celebration!Sara Swanson from StaDemonia Tattoo Stockholm has interviewed queers who got...
Sara Swanson is a tattoo artist and since 2005 run the tattoo studio StaDemonia Tattoo together with partner and master Soledad Rodriguez Aznar, first in Barcelona and since 2017 in Stockholm. In addition to tattooing, we arrange art exhibitions by queer artists, have arranged the...