Communication Arts alumnus Jesse Smith (BFA ’04) uses the illustration skills he mastered during his undergraduate career as a tattoo artist and the owner of Loose Screw Tattoo. Smith’s shop, along with others in Richmond’s Carytown neighborhood, were recently featured in Richmond magazine.
Take one look at Smith’s work, and an underlying theme presents itself. There is a story behind these tattoos, stretching deeper than the lines and designs. Specifically, Smith creates scenes from a fictitious world he calls Carkayous, located near the west coast of the Galápagos Islands. Here, he imagines the government conducting tests on animals, and, as a result, new animals and lifeforms are formed. As any good explorer would, Smith documents his discoveries — not on paper, but on bodies. One loyal follower, Will Gonzalez, says he found Smith via Instagram and has revisited several times to complete the bottom-to-shoulder work featuring an owl’s nest and characters Smith calls “Interleukins.” Loose Screw also carries a line of shirts, many of which are decorated with more of these fictitious scenes and creatures.
Read the full article in Richmond magazine.
Image: Jesse Smith, owner of Loose Screw Tattoo (photo by Joey Wharton). Credit via Richmond magazine.
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