Abstract
Marks and shapes that depict nothing at all.
What it is
Composition without a subject: gestural strokes, splatter, torn forms and geometry that represent no object. The absence is deliberate — an abstract piece is not a thing drawn strangely, it is a thing that is not a thing.
Best for
Anyone who wants the tattoo to be a mark rather than a picture, and placements where a shape can follow the body.
Questions people ask
- What is a abstract tattoo?
- Composition without a subject: gestural strokes, splatter, torn forms and geometry that represent no object. The absence is deliberate — an abstract piece is not a thing drawn strangely, it is a thing that is not a thing.
- What is abstract best for?
- Anyone who wants the tattoo to be a mark rather than a picture, and placements where a shape can follow the body.
- How well do abstract tattoos age?
- Well, and forgivingly. Nothing has to stay recognisable, so the softening that spoils fine detail costs an abstract piece almost nothing.
- What subjects suit abstract tattoos?
- Brush sweeps and ink splatter, wandering lines, stacked bars, torn organic forms.