I entered this world as a female in 1972 in Tehran, Iran, where I was born into a multi-racial family with three generations of theatre professionals. Before the catastrophic Islamic revolution of Iran in the late '70s, my mother was an established actress working with avant-garde theatre and film. The government banned her from working, and when she refused to conform to extreme Islamist propaganda, she was blacklisted by the fascist regime and prohibited from leaving the country. When I was 12 years old, my mother and I escaped and moved to our new homeland, Sweden.

In the late 1990s I moved to London, England, and in 2001, I had a pivotal encounter with the person who was to become my mentor, the revered tattoo master Xed Lehead. This meeting left an indelible mark on my artistic development. Although not my conventional teacher, Xed significantly influenced my craft and perspective on tattooing. I picked up the tattoo machine in 2007 and began experimenting with my own body, which led to an apprenticeship at a studio called London Tattoo in North London.

In 2009, a significant chapter unfolded as Mad Alan, an awesome experimental Iron sculptor and a prominent figure in the London fetish scene,¹ collaborated with Xed Lehead to establish the iconic Divine Canvas tattoo studio in Islington, London.² Joining the studio shortly after, I dedicated a decade to working full-time alongside an extraordinary team of some of the world's most innovative artists. Divine Canvas earned a lasting place in British Tattoo history as a crucial hub for the evolution of pattern-based tattooing and advanced body modification.³ Here we spent at least 12 hours per day at the studio, always aiming to push the boundaries of tattooing. We were really like monks who had no other life outside of the studio. This philosophy and lifestyle stayed with me and today, 17 years later, I still mainly live within the walls of the studio.

Today I have my entire face tattooed, all around the neck, back of head, ears, nipples, vagina, legs, ribs, arms, hands, stomach, middle of buttocks, and anywhere else I could reach. More than 90% of my body is tattooed by myself, but I also have a lot of great work done by other artists. I still tattoo myself often, as I find that through tattooing myself consistently, I have a much better understanding of how my hands feel when I tattoo others. This first-hand understanding gives me more empathy and a greater ability to tattoo in a way that feels more pleasant and efficient.

Being a transgender person, who has experienced a surgical modification of the chest and many years of testosterone hormone therapy, I know the joy and comfort that aesthetic adjustments to the body can bring. Tattooing my body, testosterone hormone therapy, and mastectomy are all a part of the same mission of redesigning and remaking my exterior to match my interior. Manifesting that inner person — the new you, the true you — reaches through all the levels of self to your subconscious, and as a result, you become a happier and stronger person.

My life experience has given me a great insight into how one can be treated completely differently based on gender and physical characteristics. I will never forget the feeling when I for the first time walked out completely shirtless in the alley behind my flat in London. It was a rainy day, and I had just removed the bandage that was wrapped around my chest after my mastectomy. As I walked, I felt an immense sense of joy and freedom. I laughed and cried as the rain fell over my shaven head and my bare chest. I thought, ‘What a feeling! Here I am experiencing the breeze on my skin and it feels amazing!’ My next thought was, ‘Wow, imagine how many women go through a lifetime without ever knowing what it feels like to walk bare and free under the rain and the sun.’

I believe that a tattoo studio is a very special place where humans come together to transform. You must feel completely safe, with an absolute sense of calm and peace, when finding yourself in a vulnerable state filled with intense emotions and sensations that you would not experience under any other circumstances.

There is a saying, that in tattoo studios, you must keep politics outside the door. But everything about the body is political, and therefore, so is decorating it. Throughout history and still today, tattooing the body has resulted in awe, wonder, celebration, rejection, and even death sentences. Why is it that we continue to modify our bodies despite all the difficulties? Whereas the intergenerational patterns of traditional tribal tattooing marked a person's connection with her community, my work with transformative tattooing marks a person’s individuality.

I find the process towards getting tattooed often starts with a feeling. An urge of wanting to look within, and wanting to reach beyond what is now.

My work is known to provoke, but provocation has never been my aim. I am only interested in liberating the human body from shame and dogmas caused by religious and outdated patriarchal customs.

We may all follow different ideologies or cultural codes that are confirmed by a larger group, but in reality, we are individuals experiencing this thing called life in a way that is uniquely ours. If we are strong enough to embrace our individual experience, we can also learn to resist when necessary; for example, if the political party we usually vote for comes up with an outrageous idea, or when others tell us that it is not for someone of our ‘culture’ to enjoy a certain type of music or food or dance. Tattooing our bodies with this in mind can manifest as a reminder to always listen and speak to our unique subconscious first, instead of blindly conforming to the status quo.

I find the process towards getting tattooed often starts with a feeling. An urge of wanting to look within, and wanting to reach beyond what is now. To make a change on the exterior in order to reveal the interior. To separate yourself from the masses and to stand out as a unique being.

There are many ways to approach the magic of tattooing; my approach is holistic and bespoke. My work is not about me; it is about those who come to me to become more attuned to their inner self. There are great possibilities to reshape and transform the body if the design is planned with intention and attention.

Before anything else, the aim is to enhance the body. I am interested in the idea of ‘superbeings’. I believe that through introspection, anyone can become the best version of themselves and become their personal ‘superbeing’. Body modification is the manifestation of the journey of finding oneself, and it can be thought of as a map that can be read by others who encounter us.

When planning a design, I get inspired by imagining my clients as superbeings in a saga or a historical tale, and then I create their tattoo based on that fantastical character. The process is not complicated; I put effort into good communication and a thorough consultation, which will give me all the information I need for designing and making your markings. The most important question is: ‘Who are you?’ I want the tattoo to express that, whether it is a full body suit or something small on your arm.

Artre
The following work is made for Artre, who is a writer and philosopher. He is often seen in Stockholm's Gamla Stan with notebooks in hand, writing and reading his poetry in unexpected places. Like most of my work, there was no initial plan to create a bodysuit, but the project came about organically. Artre came to see me every now and then over the course of three years, and each time, we tattooed another body part. I enjoy working in this way; I believe that you must grow intellectually and spiritually with your tattoo suit and, in a way, earn each section when you are ready for the next step.

During our sessions, Artre writes spontaneous poems from which I choose deliberate sentences. I then rewrite them with a skin marker over specific body parts, creating an overall pattern that appears coincidental. Yet, everything is carefully planned to accentuate his body and express his inner energy.

Read more about Touka Voodoo's bespoke and holistic tattoo practice and studio Stockholm Alternative here