Heleena Theodore on Tattooing from a Place of Joy and Authenticity

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Brown Game Strong

Mitali Dargani

65 episodes

1 week ago

For the strength in our stories and culture. Hosted by Mitali Dargani, this interview show and podcast based in London features the untold stories of people across the global South Asian community who dared to dream big and are achieving incredible things, often many at once, all whilst pushing past their inner critic.

Society & Culture

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Society & Culture

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Heleena Theodore on Tattooing from a Place of Joy and Authenticity

Brown Game Strong

1 hour 16 minutes 45 seconds

7 months ago

Heleena Theodore on Tattooing from a Place of Joy and Authenticity

In this episode, we sit with Heleena Theodore, also known as Heleena Tattoos. In her first ever in-person podcast interview, she shares with us what it was like being one of the first South Asian, Gujarati tattoo artists for miles, how she didn’t feel accepted in the community of tattoo artists, how her work has been pivotal in shaping the face of cultural appropriation in this industry in the UK. She also kindly talks to us about how despite tattooing giving her joy, everything around it was making her miserable which led her to taking a break. We talk about the incredible community that waits for her releases with bated breath, selling out her collections in a matter of hours. We also talk about what inspires her work, and how she navigates the creative industry with integrity and an unwavering belief in that what she is producing for the world is coming from a deep place of raw authenticity. From the bottom of my heart, I hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did recording it.

Episode chapters:

(00:00) - What do Heleena’s tattoos mean?

(02:10) - Introduction to Heleena

(05:15) - I was a normal kid

(07:58) - Being brown helped me as a tattoo artist

(08:45) - Cultural appropriation in the tattoo industry

(10:14) - Tattoos being taboo

(15:05) - Everyone makes mistakes

(18:30) - Why I went on a tattoo break

(24:15) - Productivity doesn’t exist as a creative

(25:14) - Making money as a tattoo artist

(27:49) - Productivity is a capitalist mindset

(28:35) - How Heleena has formed her community

(31:47) - Promoting your work online

(39:15) - Reframing our mindset around comparison culture

(45:20) - Spicy erotic art and dismantling shame

(51:45) - Would you want to swap lives with the people who you feel judged by?

(01:06:00) - What is Heleena currently working on?

This weekend, Heleena is hosting her debut solo exhibition in London, and you don’t want to miss it! Get your tickets here: https://otherbox.co/heleena

Explore Heleena’s work on:

Website: https://heleenatattoos.bigcartel.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heleenatheodore/