Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.08.2015, Síða 36

“If they are Americans
who have roots in
Iceland, they may
want something more
Viking-esque, like
a Viking ship."
Of course, it's not a new phenomenon.
Fjölnir Bragason of The Icelandic Tattoo
Corporation says that up until about ten
years ago, every tourist who came to him
wanted Björk's famous tattoo, the runic
protection symbol Vegvísir. He tells me
people still ask for that one, of course,
but not with the same frequency, having
broadened their understanding of Ice-
landic history and culture through the
magic of the internet.
All kinds of Viking stuff
Fjölnir says there are three types of tour-
ists coming in to get tattooed by him:
walk-ins who show up on a whim, those
who come to Iceland specifically to get
their tattoo, having made an appoint-
ment several months in advance, and
Iceland Airwaves festival-goers.
The walk-ins are the most common
type of tourist he gets. "They want the
runes or magic staves and such, all
kinds of Viking stuff,” Fjölnir says. “If
they are Americans who have roots in
Iceland, they may want something more
Viking-esque, like a Viking ship." Also
common are the outlines of Iceland or
the silhouette of Mt. Esja.
Then there are the tourists who have
made an appointment many months in
advance, like the Spanish mercenary
soldier who came to Iceland specifically
to seek Fjölnir’s services, looking for
something more special, "He had to be
tattooed by me,” Fjölnir says. “It had to
be a Viking protective symbol done by a
Viking."
As for the Airwaves crowd, anything
goes. "They're young hipsters. They
want all kinds of things, often music-
related. But often they go with the tradi-
tion of magic runes and stuff."
“That’s not hów
it’s fúcking spelleð”
These trends are common at other tat-
too shops around Reykjavík. Jason
Thompson of Reykjavík Ink does a lot of
tattoos of Ægishjálmur, another magical
stave. "The other day, I did it four fucking
times. It's cool, I get it. It's cooler than
a plastic Viking hat or a fucking puffin
T-shirt."
Jason says as far as tourists go, he
does a lot of runes, staves, outlines of
Iceland, ravens, and phrases in Icelan-
dic, among other things. The phrases
in Icelandic can get a little out of hand,
as Jason recounts: "We've had people
come in and say things like, 'I know this
is written in Icelandic, but can you put
some of those weird letters in there, to
make it more Icelandic?' And I'm like,
well that's not how it's fucking spelled."
Fanciful misspellings aside, many
tattoo artists here are generally happy
to give tourists tattoos. Marlena Misz-
talewska of Sweet Hell Tattoo says that
she loves it. "They are so fun, so happy.
They just want to share their experienc-
es and talk about their countries."
She understands the urge to memo-
rialize a trip with some permanent ink:
"People love Iceland so much they want
to get a souvenir that will remind them
forever of their time here. They're doing
crazy things on a crazy trip and tattoo-
ing is the crazy thing to finish it up with."
Marlena says these tourists follow the
typical trend, opting to get runes and
mountains and the like.
Keeping up with the Joneses
So while tourism tattoos are trendy, how
do tats fit in with Icelandic society? Very
well, but of course.
Fjölnir, who has been
a mainstay of the Ice-
landic tattoo scene
for years, says that
the trendy thing now
is going big. "It used
to be people coming
in and getting just a
small one, then a me-
dium one, then a big
one,” he says. “Now you've got people
coming in and wanting the whole she-
bang." He doesn't notice any particular
style trends, noting, "the trend is mostly
in the boldness."
It's a good thing Icelanders are more
open to a variety of styles, because their
seeming obsession with following cer-
tain trends almost drove him crazy a
few years back. "I sat there for ten years
doing nothing but tribal tattoos. Tribals,
tribals, tribals." To avoid stigma, his cus-
tomers apparently felt "they had to get a
tattoo within the frame of what everyone
else was doing," Fjölnir says.
They may be open about getting big,
bold tattoos, but it's not necessarily an
indicator of a rebellious streak. "Icelan-
dic people are very, for lack of a better
term, 'keeping up with the Joneses,'” Ja-
son says. “So it's really good for us, be-
cause if you get a really big tattoo, then
maybe that chick you work with is like,
'Shit, that's cool. I'm going to get one
twice as big.'"
Who can blame them?
One thing Jason has noticed since he
started tattooing here is the influence
that the outside tattoo culture has had
on Iceland's. The owners of his shop
have held an annual tattoo convention in
Reykjavík since 2006, and Jason thinks
that's had a lot of influence on the wid-
ening of taste: "Since those started hap-
pening, more guest artists have been
coming to Iceland and working, and it's
changed the face of tattooing."
Marlena has noticed a multicultural
influence as well. "Now Icelanders are
getting a lot of minimalist and Indian
designs like the mandala, and other
things connected to Buddhism,” she
says. “Before it was
more Japanese, like
the koi fish, and the
Day of the Dead girl
from Mexico." Still,
Icelanders being Ice-
landers, they're really
into their heritage, so
she still does a lot of
Viking-themed things
for them. "A lot of Ice-
landic people just love Viking things."
Clearly so do the tourists, but who
can blame them?
36 The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 12 — 2015ART
A Brief
History
Of The
Traveller's
Tattoo
In Iceland, at least
With the burgeoning population of Icelandophiles and ever-increasing popularity
of tattoos, it should come as no surprise that souvenir tattoos are becoming trendy
among tourists to Iceland.
Photo
Art Bicnick
Words
Rebecca Scott Lord
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SELECTION,
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Words
Rebecca Scott Lord
Reykjavík Ink
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Icelandic Tattoo Corporation
Hverfisgata 39
Sweet Hell Tattoo
Vitastígur 12