we are magic: a love letter to our tattoos

“From conversations with close friends and clients, I have come to know that there’s a shared experience when getting tattooed: with every new piece, we feel closer and closer to our true selves. I consider this transformative shift magic. It has the capacity to not only change our own interpretation of ourselves but also of others, a small form of shapeshifting. We can protect ourselves with tattoos; hold onto fond memories; mark moments of survival; and honour our identities. With our tattoos, we can dream up better and more radical futures, where our skin tells stories and casts spells.” — Abby Nowakowski

In we are magic: a love letter to our tattoos, printmaker and tattoo artist Abby Nowakowski transforms Agnes’s Artist Project Space into a greeting place for folks who feel intimidated by the parlour tattoo industry and a space for radical softness. Whether you’re here for a tattoo appointment, to read through tattoo love letters, or to receive an offering of a temporary tattoo, this space has room for you.

Drawing on ideas of trauma-informed care and tattooing as liberation work, Nowakowski is inspired by and refers to contemporary artist and oral historian Tamara Santibañez.