Hosted by tattoo artist Louie Tattooie, The Blunt Mag Tattoo Podcast is a series which dives deep into the philosophy of tattooing featuring some of the industries most prolific identities. For Episode 10, Louie invites moko legend Roki Maika for a chat.
Catch up on Episode 9 with owner of Tattoo Rosies, Ben Hastings.
You’d be hard pressed to find an artist in the Australian tattoo scene quite as respected and highly regarded as Roki Maika. Tattooing out of Sydney, where he founded The Art Of Tattooing in Petersham, Maika’s work has sent ripples throughout the world on account of his devotion to the sacred and ancient art of moko.
Practised by Māori for generations, Tā moko is unique in the modern tattoo landscape as it requires patience, dedication and the understanding that each dot and line can tell a hundred stories formed over thousands of years. such is Maika’s handle on the inviolable of moko, he founded his most recent venture, Tamoko Sydney & Tattoo, a tattoo studio decided entirely to moko, and maintaining its legacy.
Each piece tattooed by Maika is hand-drawn onto the skin, and is crafted specifically to the individual, and their own story. After all, when it comes to moko, there’s no cutting corners or zoning out, it’s a style that demands as much intent from the artist as it does the wearer.
Joining host Louie Tattooie for a chat on this week’s episode of The Blunt Mag Tattoo Podcast, Maika talks us through his origin story as a moko artist, his philosophies behind his practice and the art of running a tattoo studio. We picked 6 of Maiki’s recent stand-out pieces to truly bring home his attention to detail.
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