Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do?

Heyyya!! Im a big boy and mix media artist named Hedda, from Sweden now living in Berlin since a few years back. Got a big focus on tattooing but I also work with textiles, images and painting.

My work is all influenced by childishness and a absurd way of playing with feelings and the body. Growing up as a queer person I think a lot of us carry trauma in some way or another that develops into self hate, so the way that I tattoo and the images that I tattoo onto people is based on healing this. I only want to put nice, good, silly things on peoples bodies because it’s a way to be able to undramatize bodies that have been very hated and over-dramatized. And this is the thread through all my work.

What are your top 3 favorite or most visited websites and why?

I used to be a big internet kid but that was when i was a depressed 13 y/o emo, now I don’t scroll so much on it anymore. I mostly use my computer to work on my STUFF and answer emails :-))) So i guess my email provider is my fav 🙂

I appreciate your spontaneous and DIY design sensibilities. I think that young creative people can be really resourceful with their visions, especially with clothing or tattoos, like if nobody’s making a certain t-shirt, you can just make it for yourself, and brand or design hierarchies can collapse as a result. Can you talk a little more about this?

Love how you phrased that, BRAND HIERARCHIES!!! BURN THEM!!!!!! So yessss hmm where do I even start on this. I have very strong beliefs against fast fashion and I love our precious DIY scene thats been able to grow to something big through the internet and I guess we should now say OUR PHONES!! And is so frikking important and I feel that it’s especially big within the queer community. We’d rather support and buy each other’s art than buying new to keep the money within the community so we are able to live as artists, and that is so beautiful :’)))  So as a tattooer I make sure to support fellow artists and their creations cus my money comes from people supporting my art with their money, and I’m hoping this is something that looooops around and around, cus its important to support marginalised groups and their work (not!! only!!! queers!!!!!!!!), and with doing that we’re also making active decision to step away from supporting big companies and cooperations.

Where’s your favorite place to be in the world?

The ocean, in bed with my dog Henry sleeping next to me or in a studio surrounded by my friends <3

What’s your studio/workspace like?

My workspace has for a long time been my bedroom where I work on my sewing projects but I have now finally got an actual studio space that I will move into very soon! And I tattoo out of my friend’s studio Fantasy here in Berlin, I feel very glad n happy that I get to be in their beautiful space when I’m home. But I’m on the go quite a lot too so I’m also veryyy gratefullllll to have friends all over the world that welcome me into their studio spaces :’)))

How do you see instagram changing the tattoo industry?

YEA WOW!! Now lets talk about already burning hierarchies, cus the change is big and the hierarchies within tattooing are in flaaaames.

Through IG, tattooing has opened up for the DIY scene and people have been able to grow and work without having to do it a certain way. I love the queer community within tattooing, how supportive everyone is of each other and the way we are creating next to each other instead of working against one another. How so many new studios are opening up, doing their own thing and welcoming their fellows to their spaces. It’s a big network of beautiful people all over the world. But only cus the queer community has been able to grow within tattooing trough IG the other part is ofc not cancelled out, there’s still tons of toxic masculinity everywhere and I think this new way of power people have gained with social media platforms that they didn’t have before needs to be talked about. BUT!!! I could go blabla about that for days so to focus on the nice stuff through social media!! The queer community thats actively trying to create safer spaces are here and here to stay!!!! A few friends and I started a initiative called Nice Kids In Town, its a collective where we collect nice tattooers into this one platform. Cus tattooing has a power dynamic too; the client is putting their bodies and trust in our hands, so we need to do our job to make it as comfortable and safe for them as possible through the whole process. And with collecting nice studios and tattooers that we know we aim to create a safer network for everyone that wants to get tattooed and for all of us tattooing. So yes, tattooing has taken a big turn with social media cus it has given people the platform and the freedom to express their stuff :-))

What kinds of things are on your flash?

I work a lot with childish imagery which influences everything I create, so my flash is very ridiculous. I like to work with the feeling of happiness and the ridiculousness of life and I like to transfer that into my tattoos as well cus they will be on the body forever. As I mentioned earlier it kinda takes away the seriousness of our bodies. It has been very liberating for my relationship with my body to get ridiculous tattoos and I been able to regain it through tattooing and thats what I’m hoping the people getting my flash tattooed feel toooooo. A kid asked me once when I was standing in the cashier queue in the supermarket if the tatus on my arms where drawings or real tatus, and i was like YESSS this is what it is, my tatus r forever lasting kids drawings!!!!!!

What’s your favorite tattoo you’ve ever done?

Oh boy thats a hard question. I feel so much for all of them, they’r my babiesss. AHHHH, one I really love is this neck tattoo I did on my friend Coco. I love the placement of it and the word is such a strong one, its so important to be kind and practice kindness. I think we a lot of times get caught up in ourselves and ME MYSELF AND I!! Kindness is something that needs to be actively work on at all times, what does it mean to genuinely be kind, how can I not engage in destructive patterns and behaviours towards myself and others and how can I develop in my practise of kindness.

Wow, kindness, it’s such a powerful radical beautiful thing.

I think humor in art is really important. What influences your sense of humor?

hmmm what influences my sense of humor…. EHmmmmmm

I think it just been a way for me to again undramatize myself and my life and in that way work on becoming a better person. I mean how can I try to be kinder and better to myself and others if I cant move away from all the shit I’ve done and gotten done towards me, and in that way laugh about it. I don’t want to be bitter and SAD. I DON’T WANT TO BE SAD ANYMORE, i think thats it. This is a hard question to answer cus all of this comes from a position of privilege for me to be able to even say these things. Thank you tho for implying that i got humor tho <3

Who would you love to collaborate with?

My friends and my future friends. I love my friends.

If you had an unlimited budget, what would you make?

I would build my own monster truck.

What’s your most embarrassing moment?

Prob when I was 14 and puked in my friends bed on new years eve cus i was too drunk n high n then called my mom at 5 in the morning n said i got food poisoning (and she went along w it even if it was very clearly what had happened:’) )) and then i jumped out of my friends window cus i didn’t wanna face her dad n i never went back!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)))) Or when I got caught shoplifting A BANANA (….) at 13. Or when I smashed all my fingers in a door at my new school when I was 12 and everyone thought I was weird (which I guess I am). Or when I finally got to make out w a girl at a high school party but after i found out she only did it to impress her boyfriend <////33333 Or when I smoked my first cigarette at a skrillex concert at 12 n the dude giving me the cig said that i took MUNBLOSS (idk how to translate that to english) and made fun of me. Tbh all the times I puked when i was high as a kid </3333 I havent puked for 4 years now!!!!!!!!! #success

What are your favorite places to shop?

I like corner shops and supermarkets :-))  Candy and soda r close to my heart :-)))