Meet Jeremy Lo, a professional tattoo artist whose name is already renown among the tattoo community across the globe. Both locals and foreigners would specifically come to him for a unique hand-tapped traditional tattoo.
Would you have already known your destiny at the age of 7? What was your ambition, and how did you spend yours after school hours? Does your childhood fascination define who you are today? Jeremy spent his childhood exploiting Borneo’s oldest museum (since 1891) - the Sarawak State Museum. Young Jeremy wandered the museum among the exhibits of ethnographic artefacts 5 days a week. The museum became his largest playground.
Some of Jeremy's work is featured in these books.
The 7-year-old boy who lived across the museum spent his after school hours loitering into the old building that holds Sarawak’s history collection is now the proud owner of Monkey Tattoo Studio. His work is also featured in the ‘Black Book’, a collection of outstanding traditional tribal tattoos from artists around the world.
It was the 1990’s; everything I saw inside the museum is imprinted in my head. I remember all the natives’ murals, especially the Orang Ulu Tree of Life that fascinated me the most. And like a plain white piece of paper, I absorbed them all.
His journey could not have been more down-to-earth, and his passion towards the art of tattoo was as genuine as it can be. Opposite from what one may presume, Jeremy did not actually excel in any of his art classes in school, he was not keen on drawing with a pencil or on paper; it was purely carvings and only mural patterns. His many trips to the museum turned into a carving venture with almost anything a young boy could get a hold of. This included keys, metal rulers, compass needles, pretty much any tools that were sharp enough to carve on wood. His passion carried on into his teenage years experimenting with sewing needles attached to a regular 2B pencil and Chinese calligraphy ink.
Jeremy Lo, Owner of Monkey Tattoo Studio
"It is a fascination that can’t really be explained. Just like anyone else who may be interested in a certain subject, I started reading a lot of books, hear a lot of stories from natives who were patronage to my grandfather’s old store. Anything that has to do with tattoo arouses the curiosity in me. It is a fascination with the patterns and the cultures that come along with it. Later, I travelled to a lot of longhouses, belonging to various tribes, and it was there; I heard many first-hand stories from ancestors who are already gone today. That, I will always treasure, and they are something that I retain and express through the art of tattoo," Jeremy Lo.
Please share with us some examples of what one can discover and learn through local traditional tattoos from the knowledge and insights of which you have gathered over the years. Aside from Iban culture and art, are you also familiar with other natives’ background?
It is actually quite sad to say this, but I learn the most from history books written by the Dutch explorers, British or Holland missionaries etc. They wrote a lot and took many photographs from what they have discovered during the colonial days. All these are gems that are close to disappearing. The truth is, our aborigines’ art and culture and their significance are actually very similar with slight differences. It is the patterns that set them apart from each other. They do this to have unique designs that distinguish their tribe and identity from one another. No one can trace all the way back to claim for certain where tattoo really originated from; but here’s a closer truth to its purpose during the earlier days. Tattoo art served mainly for aesthetic purposes such as beautification (like make-up), and they set a caste system among the ladies.
As far as anybody has written, this is most prominent with the Kayan women, what we categorize as the ‘orang ulu’ group today. They believed that the designs acted as torches after death, leading them through the darkness of the afterlife to the longhouse of their dead ancestors.
Beautiful tattoo design Image source via Facebook/monkeytattoostudio
There were so many smaller tribes back then that we do not know of and probably has no record of. It was only later that the categorizing of tribes was done. Back then, tribes have a practice called ‘bejalai’ (the local term for walking). “Bejalai” is a journey made by tribesman to the unknown for gaining knowledge and wisdom. It is also considered a rite of passage into adulthood. They travel to expand their grounds, migrating as a result of wars, intermarriage and so on. So the art transformed and diversified as they travelled.
Traditional tattoo designs are not definite, they are adapted to the tribes’ life experiences, where they live, what they practice, and it is simply impossible to uncover all the stories. Still, one thing for sure, Borneo is best known to possess the oldest and richest tattoo history. Tattoo artists from all around the world are aware of this, and they come here to discover and to share their portion too. When we have international conventions, that is where the exchange of art and culture takes place.
Tribal tattoos are very significant as they are inspired by real-life stories or folktales translated into art; they represent a person’s spiritual power and life force. In the modern tattoo world, these have all become art more than heritage. It is like a new form of culture created through tattooing while still retaining its origins at the core. So we are hoping to play a part to preserve this dying culture as they are after all designs inspired by our native ancestors.
Borneo Tattoo Expo Image source via Facebook/monkeytattoostudio
What are the most common misconceptions that Sarawakians or Malaysians have about a tattoo?
I like this one! Tattoos do not belong to bad people, and it does not spread diseases! Those are all very misleading representations. Hygiene is actually the biggest concern for all professional tattoo artists, and you can almost call us clean freaks! As long as you go to a professional tattoo artist, you do not have to worry about getting diseases such as hepatitis or HIV because the sterilization process is a compulsory procedure. Do your research, ask around and make sure the artist is registered and experienced or maybe even has a hygiene certificate. You can have the tattoo artists explain how the sterilization process is done. The standard tattoo should all come with Nitrile gloves, needles from a brand new pack, and autoclave sterilization.
Also, people always ask if it's painful, do Google: “Is it painful to tattoo”. They have the best answers for you. Like anything else, everyone’s tolerance is different, but very often, the pain is not as bad as you have imagined it to be. With technology nowadays, there is professional tattoo equipment that conceals the needles and the sound from the machine. They are extremely sharp and penetrates less than 0.2cm skin deep smoothly. The pain is often exaggerated in your mind.
Aside from tattooing for a living, what do you wish to achieve as a tattoo artist? And what efforts have you devoted yourself to achieve that goal?
Back then, when I first started, tattoo was really not as accepted as compared to now. The first time I tried to organize an international tattoo convention in 2010, it was really tough to kick it off on your own without any support. Now there are more who are willing to look past all the misconceptions, see the potential of the event in promoting Sarawak, and accept it with an open mind. For this year’s convention, I’ve found OurYouth.my (now known as WADD.asia) that caters to youth’s passion and is willing to support my event. I wish that we will have more young talented tattoo artists in Sarawak doing traditional tattoos, not just in Sarawak but bring it out to the world and promote our heritage. To contribute to this, I teach and share my knowledge with them wherever I can.
I have travelled at my own expense to many countries to ensure that there is at least one Sarawak’s representative attending International Conventions at London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Japan, to name a few. To provide the same opportunity for both artists from other countries and also for our local talents here who do not have the same privilege to travel overseas for such an experience, I decided to take the initiative to organize Traditional Tattoo Expo right here in Kuching Sarawak.
What's in it for the public when they visit a Tattoo Expo or Convention, even if I'm not a tattoo enthusiast?
You get to experience and witness professional tattoo artists from all over the world in action. You will get to know about this art better. In recent years, more and more locals have begun to show appreciation and realize the value of tattoo art. Some would even specify to have local traditional patterns inked on them, as their own way of preserving their identity and heritage. Believe it or not, I have regular clients behind those suits, such as lawyers, woman doctors, and many more. So I would not generalize it to still belonging to only the minority.
Finally, do you have any suggestions on ways we can retain our unique heritage and culture among the younger generations, especially?
Send more young local professional tattoo artists from representative studios to participate in international tattoo conventions. Many can also be a part to support the organizing of this annual international tattoo event in Sarawak. All these are educational, and they spread awareness about our culture. I am fairly certain that we have already lost several passionate young talents who have given up along the way. Chances are, we could risk losing this heritage from our ancestors entirely over time as they will gradually diminish from one generation after the next. We should embrace what is truly ours, especially. We should not wait for something to be accomplished by someone else first and then only take notice or interest in it, because all success has to begin from somewhere, and that is initiative and active participation. Everyone can play a part in retaining our heritage and culture as long as you take actions towards what you care about.
