Letter to the Editor

Hi,

I recently picked up a copy of issue 2 of Inked Australia, and as I was flicking through came across the story on "backyard tattooing".

To be able to read about not only the ramifications to the individual being tattoed by a "backyard tattooist", but to the industry as a whole was as informing as it was disturbing. Coming from a keen collector of tattoos, the last thing I want to see is the industry deteriorate as a result of this problem.

However, as I was reading through this article I had this feeling that I had read somewhere recently on how you go about building your own homemade tattoo machine.

I realised that it was in a copy of the new publication called "Bound by Ink", and american tattoo magazine, that there was 4 page story with step-by-step instructions on how you go about creating your own homemade tattoo machine using household items such as a caseete player, mechanical pencils, dental floss and nail clippers.

The question that I pose is if there really is a genuine concern out there in the tattoo community (regardless of if it is in Australia or overseas) regarding backyard tattooists, why would a publication such as "Bound By Ink" be publishing instructions on how to create homemade tattoo machines? Isn't this just encouraging people to try backyard tattooing themselves, regardless of if that was the point of the story in question or not?

I know someone personnally who has received backyard tattoos, and when I found out I was somewhat horrified. But with stories like this being published, how do we excpect (as a tattoo community) to stop this from happening in the future?

Keep the great stories coming, and I can't wait for the next issue of Inked Australia.

Kaine Barton