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Steve Byrne
Interview by Thomas Hooper
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Upon first meeting Steve Byrne, I was instantly inspired by his
tattooing, and everything it embodies. His daily practices are
a constant reminder that you can make your tattoo work individual.
Tattooing has become a formula; there is such an overwhelming
amount of repetition that has been popularized across
the internet, drowning beautiful genres in a lack of research
and knowledge. There are incredible tattooists that have and
are continuing to emerge from this sea of translucent imagery.
Steve Byrne is a rock standing defiant against this surging tide
of copycats. He continues to stand his ground and tattoo the
way he wants to, making his work look like nothing else. From
popes to wolves, he uses everyday popular tattoo iconography
alongside medieval references, strange religious themes and
mythological creatures. Steve's tattooing has an undeniable
English feel to it. He stands out as a distinctive individual who
will continue to push his work in new directions and pursue his
own style.
Steve Byrne is one of my peers and one of my favourite tattooists.
It is my absolute pleasure to be part of this interview for
Tattoo Artist Magazine. And Crash chimes in a time or two as
well...
THOMAS HOOPER: Introduce yourself...
STEVE BYRNE: My name is Steven Thomas Byrne. I was born in
August 1978. I am the owner of a private tattoo studio called In
Name and Blood in Leeds in the United Kingdom. I am married to
Sandra and we have a young daughter together, Charlotte.
TH: Do you remember the first tattoos that you saw?
SB: Yeah, very clearly. What's strange is, I don't come
from a family where tattoos were normal. Nobody in
my family has tattoos. My brother has one now but
that's only because I tattooed him a couple of years
ago. I didn't have anybody exposing me to tattoos as
a youngster. I just saw them on other people in the
street and in magazines. Not tattoo magazines, I can't
remember there being tattoo magazines back then. They
were around, of course, but I'm talking about Rock or Metal
magazines. I went to see bands play whenever I
could as a teenager in the early 90's. I saw tattoos
on people like Henry Rollins and Phil Anselmo and
just thought they were the greatest things I had
ever seen.
CRASH: How did it affect you later?
SB: Well, I knew I loved tattoos but I never, ever
could have predicted just how major a role they
would have in my life. Despite
pre-conceived ideas about the
kind of people that wore them,
I made my mind up fairly early
in my teens that I was going to
get tattoos. My parents caught
on pretty quick and tried to steer
me in another direction but, it
was already in my head. I don't
even know how to explain it...I
suppose you cant explain it to
anyone who isn't enthusiastic
about tattoos. I wanted to cover
my body in tattoos and that was
that. I was cutting out all kinds
of pictures relating to tattoos,
anything I could find and pinning
them to my bedroom walls. No
internet then, of course, so it
wasn't as easy to find. I was
interested in something and I
had to go looking for it. I was
intrigued. My attitude was,
"that's what I want to look like
and that's how I want to be."
C: Were you doing art as a
child? Post high-school?
SB: Oh yeah, for sure. Everyday
I would say. I wasn't into
computers or video games. I'm
still not. I would sit and draw all
the time. My parents still have a lot of my drawings from when I was a kid. I
was really into paint-by-numbers and I would watch my father draw and paint
in his spare time. He used to paint for me, and my brother and sister. Stuff
for our bedroom walls, posters, things like that.
TH: Is that who encouraged you the most artistically?
SB: Both my parents did. They would buy me art equipment whenever they
could. I don't know if they realized it at the time but they were bringing us
all up in a very creative environment. They both made things for us to play
with and encouraged us to read and draw. I was really into building things
as well. Simple stuff like lego and then I got into model airplanes and WW2
tanks, stuff like that. Put it this way, I was a bit of a fucking nerd. I listened
to Megadeth and built WW2 planes and painted them in my bedroom. What
a fucking loser, haha...
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