Around fifteen years ago, Fabien - a.k.a. Belly Button - a tattoo artist, set up Le Belly Button Tattoo shop in Perpignan, his hometown. His creative universe combines brushstrokes, projections, ink stains and spraypaint, as well as a blooming Japanese influence filled with graphic geishas… He established his tattoo shop in his former apartment, with Karas tattoo, Alicia de la Pécheresse and Black Bambi as its residents. Guests who come from all horizons and remote lands are also numerous. The creation of the Aloha Tattoo Event allowed these beautiful encounters around tattoos, in 2018, in Saint Cyprien, where Belly Button surrounded himself with very talented artists. Its second edition took place in September 2021 and gathered 25 tattoo artists together in a festive and flourishing atmosphere echoing the man himself : Belly Button, “the creator of pretty tattoos on nice people’s skin”.
How did you choose your pen name ?
It comes from a little story when I was 18 years old - a long time ago - when you had to go all the way to Montpellier to get a piercing. I found myself faced with a piercer who dropped the clasp into my belly button and told me “it’s the fourth dimension in there, I can’t find it”. Later on, I wrote a song about it with my garage band at the time, The Buttocks Fakirs, called My Belly Button is the Twilight Zone. Then, I started to sign my drawings with ‘Belly Button’ : I really liked the idea of a name & surname, and it was a total change from ‘Fabien tattoo’ !
Your work is exclusively freehand, why do you prefer this technique to using stencils?
At the very start, I used to occasionally work freehand using tracing paper, but it was to gain more confidence. Gradually, it became effortless but there aren’t really any schools which teach tattooing, so everyone just adapts to what best suits their style. I settled down and asked myself how I wanted to practice my profession… An artist uses a sheet of paper, a painter uses a canvas, a tattoo artist uses skin… I have to admit that I’m pretty inflexible on the matter… Personally, I think that a painter who uses an OHP tends to cheat. I don’t use stencils, or Photoshop nor type fonts straight from Dafont, I prefer handwriting : using my own little hands, I find this way more straightforward even though it sometimes restricts me… I’ve chosen this firm stance, which is to only work freehand, although I sometimes curse myself for it.
Why do you curse yourself ?
I always meet with my clients the day before they get tattooed. This is when I draw directly onto their skin to see what it looks like, and the drawing emerges easily. The next day, when I have to draw again, the energy and state of mind aren’t necessarily the same as before…
Has your journey as an art student influenced your tattooing style ?
I studied Design at the Beaux-Arts and completed my studies with a master’s at the School of Toulouse. I was already in love with everything related to ‘graphic accidents’ in general, stains, pencil marks, sketches, it’s something that has always attracted me because of the energy it conveys. In the world of design, there’s something called rough design - which is done for the exam - where you have to draw very quickly but it requires a high level of technique and attention: this is when graphic accidents happen. I have always been interested in reflecting a certain energy: I then tried to transfer this feeling onto skin, whereas tattooing requires slow and thorough work, but I really enjoy it.
Were you a pioneer in this field, in producing this type of finish ?
There’s a kind of ‘French or francophone school’ that moved towards this direction whereas it had never been exploited until then. We owe a lot to Yann Black, because he managed to break the rules… Tattoo artists like Jef Palumbo, Léa Nahon and even Navette contributed to this new school. Nowadays, it’s become more generalized and we can find exceptional tattoo artists all over the world. I am happy that I could add to the modern tattoo legacy and if my work can inspire people, that’s great !
Can you talk about referencial pictorial artists ? You’ve already found inspiration in Klimt’s work, have others also inspired you?
A Catalan painter called Tapiès produced very minimalistic works : thrown paint onto a canvas, with an atmosphere and shades that I adore. Pollock also inspires me with his all overs, his drippings, with his movements, his velocity. I don’t want to say that I worship them, but graphically speaking, I recognize myself in this movement, and I feel comfortable to be part of it.
Has a client ever asked you to take inspiration from a famous ‘pictoral’ artist but who seemed impossible to grasp ? (like I love Jérôme Bosch, I’d want one on my back but by you ;-))
In principle, replicating works doesn’t really interest me. I remember a client who contacted me because she wanted a Van Gogh. The size of her tattoo wasn’t ideal at all for me to work with so many colors; you need a large space to be able to profit from the desired result. I was unsure about how this work would age. I prefer the atmosphere over the fact of, strictly speaking, replicating. I have done some pieces recreating Klimt’s work because I really appreciate his persona and I ‘reshape it in my own way’.
Apparently, you weld your own needles, is this still the case ?
I learned how to weld earlier on, when I was an apprentice and our only choice was to weld... But as soon as I could get my own pre-welded needles, I jumped at the opportunity ! I am very pragmatic, maybe even lazy. I already make life complicated by working free hand…
What does this ‘upstream’ work bring to your tattoos ?
You can make different needle bundles that create different textures. It’s more experimental.
For what kind of tattoo do you need the most work/precision, is it figurative or abstract tattoos?
Actually, it’s abstract tattoos where I need the most precision, contrary to what a lot of people might think. Transcribing a movement, an energy is far from being simple. You have to enter an energy bubble which is very, very slow and pretty complex.
So, are there clients who want a project with you but have difficulty choosing their ‘orientation’?
It does happen sometimes, when clients tell me ‘do what you want, I just love your work!’ For me, we create a piece of work together : the client will wear this piece of work so I don’t claim to bring a drawing already prepared beforehand. We share ideas, we talk it over. If we want this to work, the client has to be neither too precise, nor too vague ! I sometimes have to explain to my clients that they’re like scriptwriters and I’m the director. It’s all based on sharing and exchanging ideas, as well as human relationships. You have to like, understand and have interest in human beings if you want to work in this field. If you arrogantly claim that you impose your ideas, I would suggest that you buy yourself a canvas and paint in a corner on your own... I’m proud of the tattoos that take form in the shop, but I’m mainly here to share tattoo ideas with my client.
Many tattoo artists come from the world of street art, but - if I am not mistaken - that’s not your case, even though tattoos with a ‘spraypaint effect’ are a part of your ‘signature style’... How can you explain the fact that there are so few tattoo artists who obtain this ‘effect’ ?
It comes from the stuff that interested me in transcribing on skin and it opened a field of possibilities which addresses a very instinctive and swift act. A client once asked me “I love what you do, can you try to do something like that on my skin?” I gladly did so, even though I had a lot of pressure on me, but I really liked the idea of it. It was just observation : to stand in front of a tag during half an hour and understand how it works...
You've traveled a lot (except during Covid of course !), which countries, cities or encounters have particularily influenced you?
Everytime I travel, I'm amazed. When I work in someone else's tattoo shop, it means that I fully appreciate their work. Of course, the human side is wonderful, but I’ve also met people who really had the desire to share ideas and to understand how I work. This type of sharing is elementary and it makes me feel good. Travel has offered me amazing encounters and I’ve made a lot of friends. It has always helped me bounce back, it clearly has an influence on my work.
