A TATTOO JOURNEY IN BORNEO

Point of No return is a documentary film by tattoo artist Fade FX which explores Borneo’s rich tattoo heritage. In the film, Fade embarks on a journey from her studio in Brighton, England, to the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia to uncover the secrets of the ancient art of hand tap tattooing.

“The project was originally intended as a documentary to capture on film the last tattooed head hunters of the Iban tribe,” explains Fade, “but very quickly it became much more than that.”

Fade has strong links to Boneo and its tattoo culture, and she learned the art of hand-tapping tattooing while living with the Iban tribe in their jungle home.

“Borneo is enjoying a tattoo renaissance, and many new artists are uncovering the secrets of the craft that were lost for over half a century when the previous generation gave up their old beliefs and converted to Christianity. I wanted to show the world the work tattoo artists like Boy Skrang and Jeremy Lo are doing to revive a culture that was nearly wiped out.”

It was during a trip to Borneo to work at the Traditional Tattoo EXPO convention that Fade realised it is not only Iban culture that is under threat but their rainforest home as well.

“When I went to Borneo in 2014 to work the convention, I was shocked to see the damage the logging industry was doing to the rainforest. Where there were once swaths of trees and crystal-clear waters, they have been replaced by scrub land and polluted rivers. It’s heartbreaking to see the devastation firsthand, and I knew that telling the world about the deforestation of Borneo’s prime rainforest was just as important as telling the story of its tattoo revival.”

Fade is currently based in Brighton, UK, and travels the world tattooing, but Point of No Return is not the end of her filmmaking ambitions.

“Making the documentary was hard work, particularly as we were a very small team, travelling light and trying to film during the monsoon season, but seeing the finished product makes me want to get back out there and capture more tattoo stories. I really want to go to India and meet the tattooed hill tribes and find out about their tattoo culture. Ultimately, I’d love to make a series of films exploring indigenous tattoo techniques.”

Fade can be found online at: https://www.fadefxtattoo.com/