When Shane Turgeon's The Force in the Flesh Volume I came out in 2007, this incredible collection of Star Wars inspired body art sent ripples of excitement right across the galaxy, and it's still a highly sought-after book today. The beautifully produced and eagerly-anticipated Volume II is now available, containing more than a thousand photos documenting Star Wars tattoos (and the stories behind them) by some of the best artists on this planet. A tattoo collector himself, we met Shane at the recent Star Wars Celebration in London to talk about the project.
Tell us about your connection to the tattoo world and your relationship with Star Wars...
I have to say right out of the gate that despite owning a shop and writing books and articles about the industry, I’m not a tattoo artist. A lot of folks automatically assume that I am, so I like to clear that up right at the start! My initial connection to the tattoo world came from my relationship with Star Wars, and that's a relationship that's been lifelong. I was born in '77, so I was the perfect age to get sucked into the hype around The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. I grew up with the toys, and starting collecting them on a more serious level back in 1991. Over the years I've built a fairly large collection of vintage toys and made a lot of connections within the Star Wars fan community. When I was growing up, heavy metal and punk music were also a big part of my life, and that's where my appreciation of tattoos first came from. Then in 1994 Star Wars Insider magazine ran an article on Star Wars tattoos... and I knew what my first tattoo would be.
What was that first tattoo?
I got it in 1998, and it was an abbreviation of Straightedge done in the Star Wars Aurebesh lettering. Very soon, I followed that up with a realistic Yoda based on a well known Tsuneo Sanda painting. The Star Wars fan community was burgeoning online and I noticed a few other folks getting Star Wars tattoos as well, so I decided to build a central place for everyone to share their tattoos with one another. That website (www.tattoosandtoys.com) became the first home for geeky tattoos on the Web. It grew quite quickly and attracted a lot of attention.
And where did it all go from there?
This story is from the Issue 147 edition of Total Tattoo.
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This story is from the Issue 147 edition of Total Tattoo.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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