Austria Munich 2023

I wondered if I would ever return to Europe … 4 years later I’m getting ready to return .. this time to Austria which will be a first . My hosts are Barbara and Stefan who I have previously inked here in NZ and also in Munich…they had suggested to me a few times if I would like to come and work in Austria so that didn’t take much convincing for me to say yes.. so it was back on a long haul flight of 18 hours to Dubai then six hours to the Vienna then to Breitenbrunn Neu sidl am see ,a small village beside a very large lake probably a lot bigger then Lake Taupo.

It’s only source of water actually comes from rain so really it is a huge puddle in the middle of Europe only 1 m deep at its deepest point however the summer house that I am working from is absolutely perfect and very cute.

At first I was a bit concerned that maybe it was too isolated and too far away from Vienna for people to travel to ,however it turned out that clients I have previously tattooed many years ago traveled from places like Hanover, Zürich, Prague, Hungary, Monaco, and of course Austria..I had a few days to get over my jetlag and to find my way around the neighbourhood on Stefan‘s cruiser bike which I named Humphrey.this area is renowned for its cherries and vineyards. The old wine cellars here are really amazing and reminded me a bit of Hobbiton .Great weather for the first couple of days and then it actually got a little bit chilly and I didn’t really bring a lot of clothes that were warm🤨 that didn’t last for too long and then it went to the other extreme of being around 30 to 34° and I cooked !

Always nice to catch up with people that I have previously worked on some of them up to 8 years ago, seeing how their lives have changed and being able to add the next part of their story . I don’t always remember everybody’s faces but I always remember the ink .some have got married and had children some have had trauma in their lives and for a few it was the very first tattoo.

Stefan

A day out on Papatuanuku was sublime 💙

Barbera “Sissy “

Friends became “whanau”♥️ … my 4 weeks with my Austrian whanau showed me that although we are worlds apart we will always be connected through the stories , laughter, tears, and special moments shared … I cant wait to see Barbera “Sissy “in March when she comes back to NZ ☺️…we have such a special bond and it was tears from both sides as farewells were said … 🥹

From Austria it was a quick visit to Prague … voted the most beautiful city in the world and yes it is beautiful 🫶🏽 …

Next destination is Munich, my home away from home 🥰 …. as usual the trains that are not my friends were consistent in adding more stress to my already busy schedule 🤨…Sometimes they just don’t arrive and leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere and other times they stopped in the middle of nowhere and you were told to get off!! … I only had a day to set up my temporary studio before I started work the next day ..checked out my favourite places like the English garden and the Marienplatz ♥️ …So to see that some of the places that I frequented had closed due to the pandemic and people had moved on … probably 80% of the clients are people that I have tattoo previously either here in New Zealand or overseas..Basing myself in Munich is a central place for people to travel to either by train or plane and besides it’s a lot cheaper then coming all the way to New Zealand🙃 ..It’s always great to see how people’s lives have turned and twisted in different directions in the years that we haven’t seen each other and never surprises me when I am asked to add on to their previous story. That is the beauty of tamoko , it never ends until you die.

“Your ancestors will know who you are by the writing on your skin”

Sometimes I feel that I am more of a counsellor and I am an artist and some of the stories that are told to me have come from places of trauma ,despair and grief… but never ceases to amaze me that within a few minutes people are comfortable enough to tell me what it is that they would like their tamoko to represent …a lot of times I feel that they need to endure the pain of a tattoo to release the pain of a past event… It is always humbling to be a part of this process and tears, hugs and laughter are always shared between us😔

Walking with Moko in a Strange-land can often be challenging , sometimes good sometimes really bad ! Over the many years that I have been overseas I have had some great encounters with people… we have shared stories about what it is that I have tattooed on my face and where I come from , Believe me a lot of people do not know where New Zealand is , and most do you not know that Maori are the indigenous people of Zealand… .. The opportunity quite often presents itself for me to give a quick explanation of where I am from ,what I do , why my face is tattooed and that we are no longer cannibals 😉…