VietNamNet Bridge – After a career spanning eight years, tattoo artist Lam Viet (real name Lam Van Viet, aged 29) has won eight national and international tattoo awards, with most coming in the last two years. In February, Viet earned first prizes at the Taiwan tattoo convention 2018.

Deep colour: The tattoo on Lam Viet wife’s back displayed at the Taiwan Tattoo Convention 2018. — Photo tienphongonline

Telling tales with tattoos

Every artist has their favourite piece of work. For Viet, the piece he treasures most is a tattoo on what he believes is the perfect canvas – his wife’s back.

It was her first tattoo, and she put her complete trust in her husband. Her faith paid off, as it was one of a number of tattoos inked by Viet that won him international prizes.

His wife, Hoang Huyen, said: “That is the first time I participated with my husband in a competition and also one of our most memorable moments.”

But it was no easy ride. Such delicate details take time to draw, and for Huyền is an exhausting exercise.

“Five days working continuously, about 12 hours a day, right after putting our child to bed,” she said.

“On the last day, I was exhausted, cried and told my husband that I can’t continue. He encouraged me to get over the difficulties.”

Viet first picked up the needle in 2010. Since then, he has lost count of the number of tattoos he’s drawn, but he knws each and everyone has a story behind it.

And for those contemplating getting inked, that’s the advice he gives. Don’t simply follow the trends of the day, but instead pick a design that means something to you.

“There are artists who work with paper, but we create pictures on the body based on the stories of people who love this form of art,” the artist shared.

Viet’s parents, and his wife’s parents, were not fans of body art and the pair spent many years convincing them this was the right path for them to follow.

In fact, Huyen kept her body art concealed from her family, until the award was won. Then both sets of parents were won over by their love of tattoos.

“Through my work, I’m not only trying to prove myself, but also to remove the prejudice in Vietnam about tattooing,” he said.

Detail: A piece of art created by Lam Viet. — Photo kinh te do thi

Beating the stereotype

Viet graduated from Ha Noi’s University of Industrial Fine Art eight years ago and began working as an artist.

He found this challenging but at the time, spotted a gap in the market as there were not that many tattoo parlours around town. One local shop spotted Viet’s talent and encouraged him to pursue this profession.

A year after graduating, the artist and his family moved to Thai Nguyen, but found limited opportunities there, so he moved back to Hanoi and from then tattoo art has become his passion.

After winning a number of awards at the Saigon Tattoo Convention last year, people started to notice him more and he was able to open his own store on Nguyen Sieu Street.

But keen to learn, this wasn’t enough, and Viet spends most hours of the day either tattooing customers or working on fresh designs.

“He often stays at the store from 10am until 9pm,” his wife said.

“He then comes home for dinner; plays with the children then draws until 2am the next day. But despite his busy schedule, he still always makes time for his children.”

Team work: Lam Viet and his colleagues. — Photo kinh te do thi

Although he tends to follow his own style, he is a fan of Shigenori Iwasaki, who follows original Japanese style, and Dimitry Samohin, who has a realistic style.

Every day Viet only tattoos a limited number of customers, because with him, art is a subject that needs a long time. He feels if you put quantity over quality, the work would suffer.

The young artist wants to take part in more competitions in the future because he wants to compete and learn from other international artists, as well as proving the development of Vietnamese body art. 

Tuan Tran

VNS