Eli Ink has been tattooing in Brighton for many years, starting his journey as a piercer in the well known piercing shop at the heart of Brighton, Punktured. He quickly transitioned to the art of tattoo and has since built up his portfolio and skills and opened his new shop, Sacred Silence, a tattoo studio located at the top of the Sackville Road crossroads in Hove. SOURCE caught up with Eli to discuss the spirituality behind his work and the community that inspires him.
You were raised in Coulsdon, so what brought you to Brighton? And how did your journey in tattooing begin?
I have family in Brighton, so I always spent a lot of time here when growing up. I started body piercing in Brighton and quickly grew to love the city. From piercing I transitioned into tattooing, and this eventually led me to opening my own tattoo shop just a short walk from Hove train station. Brighton has a very unique feel to it. It’s in the air – the unique shops, fashion trends and architecture. Brighton has a lot of very unique people here.
Your shop is pretty unique too. Tell us about the space and also the name, Sacred Silence?
I opened Sacred Silence Tattoo on Sackville Road in Hove so my customers and I could have a calm and peaceful atmosphere to express spirituality and to focus deeply on the work I want to bring to life. The name Sacred Silence has been at the forefront of my mind for many years, to me it perfectly describes the feeling you get after you get a tattoo. It’s not possible to describe the feeling with words, so it’s a sacred silence. I recently took a vow of silence for a few weeks so I could concentrate on bringing my visions for the shop to life.
Your tattoo designs seem to have a lot of spiritual and eastern influences…
Yes, I’m very inspired by eastern art. Especially art from ancient India and Tibet. Their many religions, philosophies and endless streams of literature are very inspiring and refreshing for me. Being exposed to spiritual artwork and books from a young age I always found refuge in them and would feel very attracted to the beauty and intensity of the art. I also appreciate the craftsmanship within eastern religious art.
When you first started building up your portfolio in Brighton you were heavily influenced by abstract tattooing, what changed?
When I first started tattooing, I would tattoo a lot of abstract style works, it’s true. Very expressive, lots of colours, very free and focused a lot on the textures, the process of making the tattoo and not necessarily the meaning or intention behind it. I still love to make textured tattoos, but naturally after doing expressionism for so long, combined with travelling abroad to tattoo, and life experiences along the way, I started moving deeper into spirituality and I found myself at a point where I wanted to do something that means something deeper. Something deeper than just a cool looking tattoo. Last year I combined the two. I combined abstract/texture/expressionism with a mantra my client wanted. The result was very interesting… and I liked it a lot.
What would you like to see in tattooing going forwards?
Personally, I’d like to see the spiritual aspect of tattooing come back again. We are living in such a fast-paced, money-driven world these days, everything’s governed by apps and money. Some of us have forgotten about the roots of where tattooing comes from and I’d just like to honour that, but in my own way that means something to me and my customers.
Tattooing has changed my life in so many ways I can’t even explain, so the shop is my kind of temple, a way of giving back to the people who first came up with the idea to put ink under the skin, as a thank you, but also a place where everyone is welcome to come to unwind from the busyness and explore divinely inspired tattoo designs.
What’s your favourite thing about Brighton?
My favourite thing about Brighton is the beach, as well as the live music and gigs it has to offer. I also love the fact that many artists live in Brighton, it’s a very creative city. Lots of art and creative things are always happening, whether that be street art or exhibitions. People are always creating here.
To keep up with Eli you can learn more from his website which he regularly updates with blogs and designs, you can also find him on Instagram.
Sacred Silence, 186 Sackville Rd
Words and photos by Rob Trendy
