“Border-Line Tattoos was founded at the intersection of a way to deal with my mental health, and having this extra time and money to learn something new,” says Mumbai-based self-taught machine tattoo artist Utsavi Jhaveri. Painting distinct motifs and unique imagery onto the blank canvas that is the skin, the scope of her work expands beyond just tattooing. At first glance, I believed that her work was a celebration of womanhood and brown bodies, but in my all-telling conversation with her, I discovered there is more than what meets the eye.
A unique and multi-faceted artist in every sense of the word, Utsavi is paving a new way for South-Asian tattoo artists as she reclaims her roots, revels in the beauty of needlework and female friendships, discovers the politics of South-Asian bodies and how tattooing weaves it all together.
Where It All Began
Border-Line Tattoos was something that I started due to various reasons. There was no single epiphany that led me to tattooing. Due to visa problems, I had to leave my job as a copywriter at an advertising agency in Los Angeles and come back home, something that I wasn’t very excited about. During my time in the US, I began to learn that there are so many unique styles of tattooing and not just the macho, testosterone-fuelled realism we see in the commercial tattoo studios in India.
When I came back, I had enough dollars saved from my years there which meant there was no need to start looking for a new job immediately. At the same time, I was also going through a difficult time mentally due to loss of relationships, friends, and the life I had built in the US. My therapist asked me to pick up a hobby to add moments of joy in my every day. Border-Line Tattoos was founded at the intersection of a way to deal with my mental health, and having this extra time and money to learn something new. It was only last year that I quit advertising after 7 years to pursue tattooing.
What Border-Line Tattoos Means To Utsavi
Border-Line Tattoos is a safe space – not just for me, but for everyone who comes to my studio. I’ve had clients who have bared their all to me, in every sense, and there’ve even been instances where I have shared so much of me with them. I am her proud mother and have absolutely been enjoying her journey – the way she has grown, evolved, found her voice, and many a times, celebrated.
Border-Line Tattoos even though is my business, it’s very personal to me and I get very protective about it. Through my work, I have learned and understood so much about my roots, not just as a Gujarati but as an Indian, something that I was a stranger to a few years ago. All the love I have in me (which is a LOT ), is put into my designs and it makes me so happy when people recognise it and take a few minutes of their day to appreciate it. Border-Line Tattoos means the world to me and I am so elated to see what comes next.
What Border-Line Tattoos Means For Her Clients
For many, tattoos are a way of documenting all things they love or moments in time that hold special meaning on the blank canvas of their skin. They can mean different things to different people, for some the first tattoo is something they hold special and reserve for something significant, for some it’s a drunk decision made with friends and for some it’s a declaration of love. In that sense, borderline tattoo’s meaning expands beyond just the tattoo artist, Utsavi. She tells me, that while she knows what Border-Line Tattoos mean to her, it was interesting to see what they meant to her followers. Out of the many replies, she got on Instagram, these were her favourites —
“Nostalgia for summer vacation with grandparents.”
“A tree. Growing, evolving yet still safe and calming.”
“Coming of age of my love for tattoos.”
“Yours is the first page that brought Indian-ness to mainstream tattooing!”
“Archiving art, emotions and stories.”
“Presenting and preserving Indian heritage through tattooing.”
“Making me feel heard, inspiring to be more in tune with my body.”
“A view of beauty from a decolonized gaze.”
“A handle that allows for multiple interpretations.”
Boder-Line Tattoos As A Celebration Of Female Friendships & An Ode To Utsavi’s Nani
As an onlooker for me, at its core Border-Line Tattoos seems both a celebration of Indian artforms, women and South-Asian bodies but Utsavi tells me, its much more than just that.
I’d say while it’s a celebration, it is also an attempt to introduce something authentically South Asian into the world of tattooing, done in a style that’s mine. When I initially started tattooing, my approach was very American-influenced and that’s probably because of spending a substantial amount of time there. After my Nani passed away a few years ago, I needed to find a way to remember her, and that is when Dori, my signature work, was born. When I think of her, I picture her embroidering, her fingers moving beautifully – handkerchiefs, my Barbie’s dresses, dupattas and even my mom’s wedding saree. She filled her years of widowhood with needlework. While ‘Dori’ is a celebration of her and her stunning embroidery designs, it eventually, became something larger – a way to preserve the inheritance of needlework passed down from generations of women, and the female friendships that were built in the process.
Border-Line Tattoos As A Way Of Preserving Tribal Art Traditions
If you look back at the tribal history of India, you’ll learn how tattooing and embroidery work, were often interweaved together. For instance, the Toda tribe of Tamil Nadu are experts in a distinct style of embroidery that has been passed on through generations. Locally called Pugur, which means flower, the fine and intricate Toda embroidery is done by tribal men and women on shawls. The shawl adorned with the Toda embroidery is called Poothkuli. The embroidery is done on the stripes of red and black colour. Motifs are worked, by counting the threads. Patterns used in the embroidery are similar to the ones used as tattoos by the Toda men and women in the olden days.
My most recent collection – Dori Chapter III, is based on the oldest embroidery artform of India – Kasuti embroidery from Karnataka. This embroidery originated in the 7th century! It was done by the wives of local weavers. They’d find leftover threads and yarn at home, which they would then use to adorn their garments with embroidery. The more I study the rich textile history of India, the more it also drew me to various folk art forms prevalent in the Indian subcontinent – from the elaborate truck art from Pakistan, the Kantha work of Bangladesh, the Beeralu lacework from Sri Lanka, Warli and Chitrakathi from Maharashtra, Gond from Madhya Pradesh, Kalighat from Kolkata, the culture is just so rich! It is ridiculous how most of this work is recognised and appreciated by the Westerners, more than us. Why aren’t we taught more about Indian art in our schools? Our contribution to the world of art and design needs to be celebrated everywhere, starting from our own land.
Tattooing & Its Translation Into Documenting South Asian Bodies
As a tattoo artist, I work very intimately with skin. And it baffles me that there is so little representation of South Asian bodies in mainstream media. My work requires me to digitally place my designs on photographs of human bodies, to help clients imagine various placement ideas, and help understand how a digital motif would translate onto skin. When I would search for photos on the internet, I never found even one photo that represented our diverse range of bodies and skin colour across the Indian subcontinent.
In Bangladesh, the historical origins of the Bengali people are diverse because of migration streams, trade routes and invasions during thousands of years. As a result, skin colouring varies greatly within the Bengali population, from white to dark brown. Even among siblings, skin tone can vary significantly. This kind of diversity is something we see very often even in India too.
Through this project, I want to get into ‘skin-deep’ conversations about our bodies. I want to build a visual database of all our unique bodies across South Asia, the quintessential tummy, stretchmarks, our darker armpits and thicker, fuller hair.
I was trying to find out why we look so different from the rest of the world, when I stumbled upon an Instagram page called @desidoc.md who explained why our bodies have a tendency to store fat and not burn it off fast into lean mass. And this all points to starvation during the British rule. We have survived 31 famines and periods of undernourishment. Even one famine doubles the risks of diabetes and obesity in the next generation without a famine. Imagine surviving 31! This information needs to be shared more and conversations about this need to be had not only amongst the South Asian diaspora, but with people of all ethnicities.
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