Dylan Collard’s portrait series capturing the trust and intimacy between tattoo artists and their clients.
Ink, Art & Intimacy was a collaborative project by photographer Dylan Collard and tattoo studio Aura Ninety Four. The project features photographic portraits of tattoo artists and their clients, exploring the intimacy, familiarity, and closeness of their relationship.
After moving his studio to the Design District in London’s Greenwich Peninsula, Dylan found himself based next to the Aura Ninety Four tattoo studio. After a year of watching striking tattoo artists and their clients coming and going, Dylan approached owners Luke and Annie with an idea.
Having seen many projects on tattoos and tattoo artists presented with a dark, ‘gritty,’ or rock ’n’ roll aesthetic, Dylan wanted to try something different. Observing the people and the work at Aura Ninety Four, he decided to focus more on the trust, understanding, and intimacy he saw between artist and client. Avoiding the grungy and often heavily masculine tropes, he sought to present a lighter and more sensitive view of the close, caring, and supportive community surrounding the studio.
With ‘Intimacy’ as its key theme, the project focused on connection. Dylan photographed artist and client sitting together effortlessly, capturing the ease of genuine friendship and a shared love of tattoo art.
Inspired by Richard Avedon’s American West series and his love of Irving Penn’s studio portraits, Dylan photographed the artists over many weekends in a space cleared for him inside the Aura studio. Using a simple white wall and grey foam blocks as a background, he lit the space so the lighting remained constant, while the subjects, relationships, and dynamics changed.
Supported and organized by Aura Ninety Four, Dylan met and photographed 30+ artist-client pairings. The original aim was to produce a beautifully made hardback, large-format coffee table book of the project, featuring 40–50 images across 100–120 pages. Although this plan has been put on hold for now, Dylan is still considering options to make it happen.
