We are very honored, and honestly humbled, that Leo Zulueta has created the official artwork for the 2nd edition of the Oslo Tattoo Show.

Even more special: this is his very first convention poster.

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Last year Oslo received the final convention poster ever painted by Jack Rudy.

This year, the artist who reshaped tattooing for an entire generation has made his first.

 

In an interview with @tattooartistmagazine it was once said that nothing in tattooing reallychanged after the invention of the tattoo machine, until black & gray arrived.

And after that, nothing major shifted again until Leo Zulueta introduced a new tide to tattooing: the Black Wave.

 

Zulueta started looking outside of the Western flash tradition. Instead of painting new versions of the same imagery, he studied Polynesian and Pacific tattooing, not to copy it, and not to play traditional, but to understand why it worked.

 

What he saw was structure. Rhythm, repetition, movement across the body, and above all the power of solid black.

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From that came what people called new tribalism: a style that brought solid black, body flow,and indigenous-inspired aesthetics back into Western tattoo culture. “Tribal,” when you think about it, is arguably the style most synonymous with tattooing. There is almost nothing more iconic.

 

Some people sometimes look down on the style after its massive boom in the 90s, but that misses the point. Sometimes people even seem surprised when a tattooer says they love tribal, yet it is a style that can blend into almost anything and instantly make it feel more tattoo.

 

Tribal tattooing is a direct link to our roots, a bold reference to history and identity. Its look is unmistakable. As Leo himself put it: “People know about the tattooing from Borneo now and people know about the tattooing from Micronesia now.”

 

When researching Norse art for the poster, Leo found the carving at Urnes and knew that was the direction.

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Someone once said that if tattooers ever owed anyone for inspiring the work that earns our living, it would be Leo.

 

We’re beyond honored to present the second official Oslo Tattoo Show poster.

 

Thank you Leo.