Bonding Ink

A conversation with Rinel “Rhyno” Tabamo

We sit down with Chicago tattooer Rinel Tabamo, aka Rhyno, to talk about his path into tattooing, Irezumi, and the importance of an artist-client relationship.

— WORDS BY DEEPAYAN BOSE

Getting tattooed can be a solemn and isolating experience. Some artists prefer silence for concentration, leaving their client to contemplate the scarring of their own body over the low hum of a machine puncturing flesh 3,000 times a minute. I’ve been tattooed before and the end product was very fulfilling, but the process felt distant. Other than the physical bond of needle to dermis, I did not feel a connection to my experience. It was purely transactional. However, I left my first appointment with Rinel Tabamo believing that we’ve known each other for ages and a plan to complete a 7/10 sleeve.

“While my parents thought I was going to school, I was actually going to my apprenticeship.”

“I left school mid-semester,” Tabamo recollects. Being at a crossroads in his life, he chose to pursue an apprenticeship instead of taking classes at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago where he had recently been accepted. “While my parents thought I was going to school I was actually going to my apprenticeship.” Both of us being children of Asian immigrants, we reflected on the value of education instilled in us. I’ve often felt guilty about not getting more formal, higher degrees, but Rinel’s perspective on education is more personal. “There are no good schools, just good teachers.” His hunger for learning drives his approach to tattooing and, more specifically, irezumi.

 
 

A traditional form of tattooing, Irezumi originated in Japan in the 17th century. The style is most notably adorned on bodies of Yakuza members, often with coded, symbolic imagery. Why would I, a non-Japanese person, let a non-Japanese tattoo artist mark me with cultural, often esoteric motifs? Whenever I see rich, white people with the “Aum” symbol carrying a Louis Vuitton bag my internal body temperature rises significantly. In this case, aren’t I guilty of the same appropriation? Why do I feel Rhyno’s work is culturally sound? Rhyno even admits to never having been to Japan. Yet it is this sentiment of being an outsider that really pushes him to learn. 

 
 
 
 

His workspace and his social media is stacked with books he’s read and currently reading. “I’m an American tattoo artist that specializes in a Japanese style who’s never been to Japan…which is why I try so hard to make my station look like it.” His workspace is decorated with Ukiyo-E prints, Noh theatre masks, Buddhist artwork, and his own work, which is indistinguishable in style from the imported imagery around him. During our tattoo session this knowledge is put to practice. In the consultation stage, I let him know I wanted a tattoo of the Hindu Goddess, Kali. Popular irezumi motifs include Buddhist deities which, in turn, have roots in Hinduism. Rinel’s knowledge of these figures and the broader context and role they play in culture was crucial in constructing a sleeve motif of flames and lotuses that is both relevant to Kali and a traditional irezumi adornment for a piece depicting deities. He was able to both acknowledge and adapt tradition to create my sleeve.

Though synthesis is a true mark of learning, Rhyno recognizes his limitations. He admits there’s a lot of aspects of Japanese imagery that are out of his realm of mastery. Japanese calligraphy is one such example. “I just don’t feel comfortable creating things I don’t understand.” Rinel doesn’t insist to be a spokesperson for Japanese culture or claim that his work is organically his. His comfort in speaking about what he doesn’t understand allows me as a client to trust that when he does decide to take on a project, it is well-researched. There is a vulnerability there that I can identify with as an artist who worries about how his work will be received. It is this willingness to open up that allows me to do the same. 

 

“There needs to be an artist-client relationship. You gotta feel comfortable with me. I believe the piece of art on your arm comes with the energy that the artist puts with it…you get good memories with it, a good experience…It’s all about that connection.”

The four hours I sat with Rhyno for my session, I didn’t look at my phone once. The pain of the tattoo needle bouncing off my bony elbow was drowned out by stories we shared. “There needs to be an artist-client relationship. You gotta feel comfortable with me. I believe the piece of art on your arm comes with the energy that the artist puts with it…you get good memories with it, a good experience…It’s all about that connection.” Tattoos can be four hours of pain if you can’t connect with the artist. If anything at all, Rinel Tabamo is a master of drawing lines between things. Be it cultures, clients, or ink and flesh.

Get in touch with Rhyno

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | RHYNOTATTOO@GMAIL.COM