@sharpforcetrauma

Delft, The Netherlands 

I grew up in the 90s, when heavy tattooing was still rare. My uncle’s bodysuit left a strong impression on me, and drawing quickly became a daily habit. At nine, I was already making small money drawing tattoo designs on classmates with eyeliner. Despite that early drive, tattooing didn’t seem like a realistic career, so I studied UX design and spent a decade working in the financial technology sector. The creative disconnect eventually caught up with me. I saved money, left my job, and started an apprenticeship in a tattoo shop. When that path stalled, I opened a small workspace above a barbershop. What began as necessity turned into direction, and I gradually developed my focus on blackwork and heavy blackwork, building the foundation for my current practice.

My work centers on blackwork and blackout tattooing, with healing quality as the main priority. After a year of smaller tattoos, I began scaling up and experimenting with freehand composition, supported by a background in calligraphy. A patchy first blackout pushed me into deep technical research, studying skin, machines, needle configurations, and ink behavior while also building custom equipment. Over the years, this process led to consistent, saturated results with predictable healing. Today I run my own studio ‘Vagevuur Tattoo’, where autonomy and technical precision shape every project. My focus now is expansion through international guest spots, connecting with new audiences while continuing to refine large-scale blackwork and blackout pieces through ongoing experimentation and hands-on experience.