Jay C Rising loves his work, is proud of his art, and is open to most commissions from customers. But there are limits, the 34 year-old tells Nick Duerden
“I’ve always been obsessed with tattoos. My dad had a lot of old-school ones all over him. Over time, they faded and, as a child, I used to colour them in for him. When I grew up, I thought I wanted to become an artist but couldn’t see myself breaking into the traditional artistic market. Tattoo artist offered more variety. I’ve been doing this professionally – at Gilded Cage studio in Brighton – since 2017.
It used to be much more underground than it is today. My dad used to have to wait at a bus stop, then be collected by someone and taken to their house, when he wanted a new tattoo. Back then, they still had a lot of associations with biker gangs, criminals, sailors, the military. It’s evolved a lot since then, I think because the older population has passed on, and taken that perception with them. There’s no stigma attached any more. In fact, young people have rebelled against that old image to such an extent that, today, they’re widespread, normalised. It makes perfect sense to me. You have art on your walls, don’t you? So why not on yourself? It’s a form of individual expression.
I probably do about 16 to 20 tattoos a month. Some of them are quite small, quite basic, first-time tattoos, but a lot are much bigger. If I’m doing a big tattoo, a maximum of six hours, then it’ll cost you £450. It’s not cheap, but it is art. People choose me, I suppose, because they see my work on Instagram, and like what they see. I try to create something for them that’s individual, that’s bespoke. It’s amazing to create something that will live on someone forever.
But that brings a lot of pressure, too. You have to have a steady hand, and you don’t want to make any mistakes – although every artist will make their fair share in their early days. That’s why we experiment on ourselves at first. The first time I tattooed myself – an image from Deadpool on my ankle – my hands were shaking so much. It’s not a good tattoo.
Does it hurt, having one done? Yes, of course. The more nerves you have per square inch, which is in places where there are a lot of biomechanics – the elbows, the joints, the hands and feet – the more painful it will likely be. The hand has something like 127 bones, so it’s delicate, it’s sensitive. Often, people tend to tense up, which just makes it worse. You need to relax.
Not everyone’s nervous, but there are those who are so nervous that their blood sugar levels drop even before the needle has gone anywhere near them. I’ve had people faint on me. You have to catch them; a limp person is far heavier than you might expect!
It’s illegal to tattoo anyone under the influence of alcohol – we follow strict codes of conduct – and each tattooist has their own moral code. I myself would never tattoo a swastika on someone, though I have tattooed all sorts of things all over the body. I’ve tattooed around breasts – on top, on the side, underneath, but not the nipple, and not the areola – though I’ve not tattooed a penis. I do know some people that have. The strangest request I ever got was when someone asked me to tattoo around their bumhole. I didn’t understand the logistics of it, but then to be honest I didn’t want it. It was a quick no from me.
People are almost always very happy with their tattoos, thrilled even. I’ve had very few complaints. My average customer is aged between 24 and 34, but the oldest person was 82. Her husband had recently passed away, and he had hated tattoos. She told me that she’d always wanted to get one, that it was part of her bucket list, so I gave her a tiny crucifix on her wrist. She was very happy with it. It was nice to be able to do that for her.
I love what I do, I really do, so much so that it doesn’t even really seem like work. Tattooing is my life.”