Crack

Danish artist Jacob Dahlstrup has been trying to convince Crack DIY tattooing is a relatively painless activity, but we’re not so sure. Like dentistry and tax returns, we reckon tattooing is best left to the professionals.

Born to a painter mother and a music teaching father who loved to travel the world, it seems inevitable that Dahlstrup would come to love exploration and art. His curiosity took him around the world and back again in the search of new cultures and along the way he picked up passion for tattooing, skulls and sailors.

After developing a curiosity for naval folklore and Russian tattoos, Dahlstrup focused on developing a body of work during his degree at the Glasgow School of Art, using every medium imaginable, from blowtorches and etching, to the humble pencil. Here his passion for tattooing grew and his paper tattoo series has since collected numerous admirers. Since graduating in 2010, Dahlstrup has gone on to exhibit his work, which includes banana boats, tattooed sheets of paper and origami battleships, in London, Copenhagen and Helsinki. Even with this hectic schedule, he shows no signs of slowing down in 2011.



Ahead of his solo exhibition, All At Sea, in Viborg Denmark, Dahlstrup talks to us about paper cuts, tattoo machines and why skulls are just so damn cool…

When did you first develop an interest in the arts? I’ve been drawing sketches as far back as I can remember, and my family, friends and teachers have always encouraged me to do so. It’s definitely been important that I’ve had some good and open-minded teachers at various schools that recognised my creative talent, rather than my exceptional weakness in maths.

You were born in Denmark, but have studied and worked all across Europe, including Glasgow and a recently in Mallorca. What was your motive for moving to such varied locations, and do you have a favourite city you have lived or worked in?

When I was a child my family travelled a lot for long periods of time and I was introduced to all these crazy places in Asia and different cultures - my curiosity started back then. Also, with Denmark being both geographically and culturally the size of a pinhead, (although we like to think the opposite) it can get very claustrophobic at times, so its been a natural thing for me to go abroad for periods. I lived in New Zealand for a year when I was younger and I’ve been back since then. I guess some of my favourite places are in a small town on the northern tip of the south island. But I did also fall in love with some coastal villages on Mallorca when I worked there recently.

The methods you use within your work are very diverse. How do you prepare for creating a new piece?

It usually starts with an idea sparked from something that attracts my eye. It can be anything from a found object, old photograph, or even a good story that leads to an in depth research and reshaping of the original concept. This re-working of ideas and material for that matter is quite central to how I work. Sometimes it can be a very long and attentive process and in other instances its very fast and it even creates itself without much interaction of my hands.Throughout all your work there is a strong nautical theme, with naval influences and references running like a narrative to each piece.

Where does your fascination with nautical folklore come from, and what is it about this way of life that inspires you?

The nautical themed work came about after a lot of research when I did my dissertation project in Glasgow. I think it slowly developed out of my interest in the codes of the Russian prison tattoos. I understand people read a lot of my work from a nautical point of view, but it’s really just a visual language that I feel comfortable to communicate without being either too nonsense-art-intellectual or too literal. There are a lot of kitschy symbolism and folk art elements in my work, but full riggers and skulls are just pretty cool.

In your Daddy Was A Sailor series, who are the men in the detailed pencil drawing and where did you find them?

One of them is a pretty straight forward copyright-infringement of an old photograph of an American captain tattooed by Bert Grimm. The other figures are inspired by old portraits of Russian prisoners.

Your paper tattoos are fascinating and intricate, where did your inspiration come from to use a tattoo machine on paper and how long did it take to create each piece?

When I was studying in Glasgow I spent a lot of time in the etching lab drawing on hard grounded etching plates and I experimented a bit with using flat shading needles instead of the more conservative methods. I was drawing some old school seascapes on paper and tried to add some texture on the foam tops on the paper by scraping off the layers of paper, and eventually I powered up my tattoo machine to get the job done. It worked really well and after some fine-tuning and experimentation I managed to create some line work as well.

So do you have any tattoos of your own?

I did a tiny paper boat on my hip just to test my machine when I first got it. I did it in my studio in Glasgow - not the most sterile environment, and I didn’t really think it through, but it turned out alright for a first timer and I’m pretty happy with it now. It reminds me of art school and all the fun I had folding 1000 paper boats for an installation until my hands started bleeding.

Ouch! Wasn’t tattooing yourself painful?

It’s just a tiny one, so no big deal really. I had done some simple line work on myself and friends to test it out beforehand. Eventually those lines turned into the paper and boat tattoo and that only took about 20 minutes. The pain wasn’t too bad and no different than if someone else was doing it for me, but of course I could feel the needle working.



The paper tattoo series has been produced on plain white watercolour paper, what was the reasoning between choosing this (non) colour and have you ever used the machine on top of any of your drawings or on a different material?

I have been working on top of some pencil drawings like the seascape drawings in my All At Sea series. I like the delicate whiteness of the non coloured line work in contrast to some of the more traditional heavy tattoo designs I refer to in my subjects.

You’re currently seeking a tattoo apprenticeship – what do you hope to achieve from this, and do you see skin as the next natural canvas for your art?

I’ve got numerous reasons for going into the profession of tattooing. One is to pursue my dream and challenge myself and my work while learning the practice from scratch. The other is simply to get a job I will enjoy waking up to every morning.

Your pieces, most notably 100 hour drawing, take a long time to produce. Do you prefer more intense, lengthy periods of creativity, or do you ever work in short sharp bursts, creating work relatively spontaneously?

I generally work quite fast and intensively in full day/night sessions when I draw, rarely working more than a few days on each piece, however sometimes I have other projects on the side or I challenge myself – like the 100 hour drawing – to do larger and really detailed work. At the moment I am working full time on two forthcoming solo shows, so I
like to change methods once in a while just to shake things up a bit and keep the motivation going.



You seem comfortable using both traditional and non-traditional tools for mark making, such as tattoo machines and blowtorches. Do you have a preferred method, and what made you experiment with these tools in the first place?

Yeah I’ve used a lot of different techniques in the past and especially during my time at art school. I got a bit carried away with using blowtorches and shotguns as mark making before getting into the tattoo needles. I’ve always been using graphite pencils and that’s definitely my favourite medium, but I’m pretty sure ill never shy away from some exotic methods in the future.

So when you’re not working, what would Crack most likely find you up to?

I’ll probably be on the internet Googlin’ the perfect idea, hanging out with my friends and my girlfriend, eating food and sleeping the day away!



Finally, what does the future hold for Jacob Dahlstrup?

In May I have two different solo shows within the same week. One at Hans Alf Gallery in Copenhagen, the other at NBex in Viborg, so until then I’ll be in the studio full time. Then I’ve got a show at CCA Mallorca in July, followed by the Nordic Art Fair with MOHS Exhibit with whom I’ve also got a solo show opening in January 2012. Hopefully when the dust settles I’ll be injecting black ink into some pale Danish flesh.



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http://www.jacobdahlstrup.com

Words: Sarah Pusey

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