GreenGrape Tattoos started out as a quarantine art project. I bought a tattoo gun on a whim and decided that I wanted to tattoo oranges with images of beetles. My intent behind this body of work was to encapsulate the beauty that is death and decay. Death is the one guaranteed experience in life, and often the most feared. We fear the not knowing what comes after our own cessation, but what we fail to recognize that with death comes life. Each orange is living and organic material that has the potential to give us or the ground sustenance. I created temporary pieces of art by tattooing the surface of something that is bound to decay and return back to the earth. Each tattoo is based off of a beetle that is important to the natural decomposition process. In a way, I was paying homage to the organisms that take and bring life into existence: a beautiful balance, often overlooked. By using the medium of tattooing, rather than just drawing on the orange, I am making the art a part of the orange skin itself. The ink is becoming one with the peel.

After my exploration of oranges, I decided to start tattooing skin. It began with friends and has transformed into so much more than I could have ever imagined. Tattooing is an act of trust, both for the one being tattooed and the tattoo artist.

I now tattoo through referrals or Instagram flash drops. Any inquires can be sent via email.

@greengrape_tattoo