From Hong Kong with love! Angel is a talented artist from Hong Kong who goes by the tag @chapta.too. Angel is currently a resident artist at Briar Rose Tattoo (@briarrosetattoo) in London and has a focus on dark and emotional illustrative designs. She was kind enough to share some of her work and give us an insight into where her inspiration comes from.
Tell us a little about yourself?
I'm a tattoo artist based in Hong Kong and I'm currently working in London as a resident artist. I mainly do illustratively and sketchy black/grey about animals and emotionally dark themes. It’s my third year of tattooing and I'm wholeheartedly into this industry. I feel like I still have a long way to go.
What made you get into tattooing?
It all started with curiosity of getting my first tattoo and I just loved it at first sight. I was a graphic designer before being a tattoo artist. Now I am applying my design aesthetic into tattooing.
Your tattooing is super dark and intense, how did you develop this style and where does your inspiration come from?
Dark colour calms me a lot. I love working on animals and dark themes. Nature is a respectable teacher and I can’t stop admiring how amazing the world is. I got a lot of inspiration from the law of the jungle, how animals are striving to live every day and how human beings are destroying and inserting agony into nature.
In terms of dark-themed tattoos, I just love injecting some emotion into it. What I do is nothing related to horrifying and scary objects but more with an emotional basis.
Your style suggests to me that you are an animal lover! What is your favourite animal and do you have any pets back at home?
I love all kinds of animals except insects haha
I have two rescued dogs. I insist on adopting animals but no shop as I think all sheltered/ stray animals deserve a real sweet home.
London is a long way from Hong Kong! How does the tattoo scene compare and would you come back?
Both Hong Kong and London clientele are amazing. I got their tremendous love and support to allow me to have as much creativity as possible on every bit of work. I'm getting more picky about selecting and prioritising the work that I mainly wanna work on, developing a more and more significant style for my profile. I feel fortunate to be busy with loads of amazing ideas in the coming future.
I definitely will come back more often.
How much longer are you in London and where do you think your next guest spot destination may be?
I think I will stay here till the end of year. The pandemic is making travel more difficult. I'm hoping to stay as long as possible before heading back to Hong Kong.
Be sure to checkout the rest of Angel's work on Instagram @chapta.too.
