Inopia is synonymous with poverty or indigence; to be in the dark is to ignore what is happening around you. What led you to choose that name?
The truth is that it was a somewhat casual choice. At that time I was studying Fine Arts in Cuenca and in one of the work groups the idea of giving us an alias arose. I am a person who always lives in the world of inopia, more in dreams than in reality, and from there Ynnopya emerged.
What artists triggered your immersion in the art of tattooing?
It all started with artists who came from illustration or other branches that had nothing to do with traditional tattooing. As far as this world is concerned, Melina Wendlandt and Sasha Masiuk have inspired me a lot with their perfection of lines. In my pieces there is also a lot of influence from the Arab, Hindu and especially Berber cultures, due to the placement of the tattoo in strategic points of the body.
Do you believe in that tattoos should have a meaning, beyond the aesthetic?
When one decides to get a tattoo, and part of some motivations, whatever they may be. It is not necessary that the tattoo has a deep meaning, that it should represent something or someone. The piece, once made, will already remind you of a time in your life. I don't think there is anything else to look for. The strength lies in the tattoo itself.
"It is something that you are doing forever to a person and that must be perfect from the beginning"
Do you remember your first 'tatu'?
Yes, I had a terrible time. I did the first one for Dani, a skull on the knee, which is a very complicated area, with many skin changes. I pricked him to the core, it was crazy. It's something I remember every day because I see it constantly. On the other hand, the experience made me see that I wasn't so afraid of tattooing. The first 'tatus' are a stomach ache, a lot of nerves, a lot of responsibility. It is something that you are doing forever to a person and that must be perfect from the beginning.
A painter needs a pictorial support, be it a canvas, a wooden board or a wall. In your case, the support is the skin. What is attractive about the body?
The movement. The body is changing, it evolves, and with a tattoo what you do is give shape to an idea, yours or someone else's, on an aesthetic level, which transforms over time. The possibility of adapting the drawing to the volumes of the body is something very interesting.
When you embark on a design… is there, shall we say, an anatomical reading process?
Yes, and that's why I ask my clients to send me photos of their body so that I can analyze their shapes, see where the pieces fit best, how big they should be, what kind of movement they're going to suggest, how they can be well adapted to the musculature so that they flow over the skin.
Ynnopya captivates with her fine line tattoosANDREEA VORNICU
Your work stands out for its ornamental style, floral motifs, mandalas... Why is that?
Before I started tattooing, I made jewelry. There was a time when I had to combine both things, and I opted for tattoos. But I have always tried to find a way to wear jewelry, accessories, to the body, that's why, in my designs, what I try to do is transform tattoos into jewelry.
When you tattoo a person, in a way, you leave a part of yourself in them. As if the needle established a link...
Yes, bonds and friendships can be created, especially when the project requires several sessions. You end up getting to know the other, his interests... As you say, the artist leaves a part of himself in the 'tatu', and the other person, many times, by making a piece, closes a vital process, a stage.
Last month it was approved by royal decree that the Civil Guard can wear visible tattoos with the uniform. Do you think tattooed people are still stigmatized?
Yes, the stigma exists, but it is less and less because more people have tattoos. Although I would dare to say that even among people who have tattoos, that stigma creeps in. Thoughts like "I want to get a small tattoo because I don't want them to see it at work", "how are they going to look at me", "what are they going to think of me"... In the end, if one doesn't break up with this you can move forward.
This year Daniel and you have become parents. Do you see the reconciliation of family and work feasible?
It is difficult but not impossible as long as you have family support. There is no other. We have been sold the idea that we are 'superwomen' and that we can do anything and this leads us to be very self-demanding, both professionally and personally, but the truth is that you cannot achieve everything equally.
How would you represent the pandemic?
It has been a break with the world as we knew it until now and a new one has opened up before us. You would have to think about what to select from the pandemic, what it has been for you, what has changed in your life to be able to make something personal of a situation that we have all experienced.
And based on your style, could you give me a picture?
In a graphic way, I imagine a kind of window with the stairs upside down.
There it is.
THE BURST
- A song.
– 'As if you were going to die tomorrow', by Leiva.
- A book.
– 'The shadow of the wind', by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.
- A dish.
– The Valencian paella with firewood.
- A place.
– Any place where you can see the sea.
– Black Alien.
– Absolute control over your body. It goes beyond the tattoo.
– New Romareda.
– I'm not very into it but I don't think it's necessary to invest in that now.
– 'Peanuts' from the Expo.
– You got me, I don't know what you mean.
– The Great Blackout.
– Things are going to start to change and we will have to learn to adapt.
– Third dose.
– Fine if necessary but not mandatory. Everyone has to be able to decide what to do.
– Constitution Bridge.
– Necessary getaway before Christmas.
Everyone wants to get tattooed before the end of the year.
– Something that bores you.
– Television, especially the 'Telediario' telling the same news endlessly.
