Abby Davidson

In a generation where a fifth of us have ink on our skin and there are tattoo studios on every high street, it is no surprise that Belfast has a thriving tattoo scene. Although a traditionally male-dominated space, Belfast has become a thriving hub for female and non-binary artists, a few of which I have had the pleasure of being tattooed by over the past few years.

The most recent addition to the community is Croí Dubh, a brand-new studio that opened in November 2021 on Malone Road. The studio was founded by blackwork artist Charlotte Lee who has been based in Belfast for years, having previously worked at Belfast Blackworks and Skullduggery Tatu. Charlotte boasts an impressive portfolio of blackwork tattoos and a sizeable social media presence with 15.5k Instagram followers. Her books are filled extremely quickly due to high demand, so an appointment with Charlotte is almost like gold dust. Her new studio has become home to two other female artists: Kerry O’Sullivan, an award-winning black-and-grey realism artist, and Nik Guy, a specialist in occult-themed blackwork.

In 2016, tattoo artist Lorn Large opened her own studio, A Sailor’s Grave, which has since grown to host a range of talented local artists, including Caila Dagger and Marty Luck. These two studios only give a taste of the incredible talent Belfast has to offer.

Em Dowdeswell, who has recently become a resident artist at Skullduggery Tatu on Dublin Road, is a blackwork tattoo artist with a unique illustrative artistic style. One of their most popular design motifs are masked characters called ‘Dunnos’ which have become one of Em’s signature designs. Starting as an apprentice in 2016, they have established themselves as a go-to blackwork artist in the city.

I went to Em for my latest tattoo, and during our appointment I took the opportunity to question them on the growth of the non-male presence in the industry. They feel that female artists have been given a pedestal in the tattoo scene in recent years and are “dominating the industry now” with around two to three times as many female tattoo artists working in Northern Ireland than there were five years ago. They also commented on the growth of openly queer individuals who now feel “confident to have a voice” in the scene. To Em, the Belfast tattoo scene is becoming an “authentic safe space” where non-binary artist like themselves can feel welcome.

Working right beside Em in the Skullduggery Tatu studio is the talented Vicky Jeffery. Vicky is an illustrative blackwork artist whose work features fauna, flora and wildlife illustration. The influence and appeal of her work has stretched beyond Belfast, with clients travelling from as far as America just for the chance to get one of her pieces tattooed.

Travel down the road to India Street Tattoo and you will find Stefanie Lee, whose work ranges from blackwork to traditional colour tattoos. Her work combines traditionally ‘feminine’ imagery such as hearts and flowers with skulls, snakes and spiders.

At Belfast Blackworks, Scottish artist Rhian McIntosh is a blackwork artist whose work is aesthetically stunning with lots of botanical pieces and female portraits and silhouettes.

On the other end of the tattoo spectrum sits Kat Paine, an artist at Hidden Hand Tattoos who works in full colour in an illustrative cartoon style.

Russian Doll by Kat Paine (@kat_painetattoos)

The list of talented female and non-binary Belfast tattoo artists goes on and on and is constantly expanding. If you’re interested in getting inked, I encourage you to go out there and explore the sea of talent in the female and non-binary tattoo scene!

The Female and Non-Binary Tattoo Artists Creating a Safe Space in Belfast