Artist Dion Kaszas. Pictured hand poke tattooing a pictograph tattoo of the Stein Valley Owl. Photo / Supplied
Artist Dion Kaszas. Pictured hand poke tattooing a pictograph tattoo of the Stein Valley Owl. Photo / Supplied
When Canadian Dion Kaszas got his first tattoo at 17 it was his way of moving away from his indigenous roots.
Like many youth he struggled to find his place, in a society where discrimination against the indigenous community remained visible.
Mr Kaszas who was of mixed Hungarian, Metis and Nlaka'pamux heritage, is one of 32 indigenous artists coming to this weekend's Indigenous Ink Festival in Auckland.
He's one of a number of indigenous artists around the world working to bring back traditional forms of skin art from the brink of extinction.
Today, Mr Kaszas is far more proud of his Nlaka'pamux heritage and has made a living revitalising the First Nations people's traditional tattoo style and methods bringing them from the brink of extinction.
"Now I understand it's more about them than me. But as a young person it's a struggle to understand that, especially when your peers aren't indigenous."
His work involved "skin-stitch", where a needle and thread was pulled through the skin and "hand-poke" methods, which involved poking the designs into the skin.
Mr Kaszas said these culturally-based tattoos were a way of people owning their culture and gathering strength from it.
"It helps them embody who they are, especially in Canada, where there is a lot of racism. But when you embody this you can get a lot of strength."
Japanese artist Taku Oshima was one who's looked back hundreds and thousands of years for inspiration to the Jomon era in 10,500 - 300 B.C.
Skin stitch tattoo inspired after a basketry design. Photo / Supplied
He has moved away from the colourful era of Japanese dragons, koi fish and flowers, that many associate with traditional Japanese tattooing, to a range of tribal, monochromatic geometric shapes and swirls.
"I made this project to make Japanese people today realise that our ancestors had beautiful tattoos all around their body."
While archaeologists still debate the evidence of tattooed people in this era, clay figurines from the period show tattoo-like marks, which Mr Oshima used in his designs.
Artist of Malay, Balinese and Melanesian heritage, Ify Refini was one of those attending the festival who used both the past and the present in her designs.
The Australian-based artist used her own culture and knowledge of traditional art, with more contemporary influences to create a unique design for each of her clients.
"When someone comes in, it's not just about picking something off the wall. I prefer to hear their story first and connect with them. Every tattoo is sacred."
For her it was important that both the artist and the person being tattooed identified with a design's cultural significance.
Tattoos were a way of giving people a sense of belonging and identity with their culture, she said.
