Pink Lotus Tattoo and Fine Art

Pink Lotus Tattoo and Fine Art is run by two painters, Joko Supriyono and Barbara Van Kooten, known as Ndoro. Joko ran a tattoo studio in Yogyakarta for more than 15 years before the pair opened in Ubud in 2017. After five years in central Ubud they moved to Ajik's Art Gallery in Keliki, at the end of the Campuhan Ridge Walk.

Styles and techniques

Joko does personalised work by machine or with traditional tebori, a hand method with wooden or metal sticks that taps the needles into the skin. His specialities are guideline tattoos, abstract designs, ornaments, black and grey, ethnic motifs and cover-ups. Needles are always new, individually packed and sterile. Hand-speed work is slower than a machine but causes less trauma, so the skin heals faster, and the traditional aftercare closes the outer skin so that travellers can swim on the same day.

Guideline tattoos

A guideline tattoo is a one-line abstract design, usually 5 to 11 cm long, based on a written reading drawn from the client's birth date and full official name, plus a short video so the designer can see and hear the client. The report runs from 3 to 13 pages and is sent by email. The full package includes the reading, an explanation of the design and the tattoo, which takes 30 to 40 minutes.

Designs

Clients can bring their own design, ask for a custom one or choose from the studio catalog, whose designs are used only once.