A tattoo artist is always looked down as someone pursuing a trivial form of art, complains this renowned artist, who is otherwise sought after in the world market. Meet Vikas Malani, a veteran celebrity tattoo artist and the man behind - ‘BodyCanvas’ who got inspired by his mother, an artist.
Vikas himself was a body artist with no formal training in fine art. It all came as a suggestion and he took it up and never needed to look back. Rest is history.
Vikas’ passion for art led him to start sketching at a very young age. As a child, he enjoyed scribbling and sketching random designs. Earlier his artworks included a lot of landscape, abstract patterns and designs. He later progressed to body painting and temporary tattoos while in college.
He participated and won many face and bodypainting competitions in college and made temporary tattoos.
“I want to change the way people think about the tattoo industry. The only good thing we get from this industry is the money and nothing else. Every now and then we come across situations where people make us feel as if we are doomed. That is what needs to change from now onwards,” says Vikas about whatever experience he has gathered from his clients or others till date.
Vikas has worked on all styles of tattoos, from old school to modern. His personal favourites include linework, dotwork, freestyle, traditional designs, water color and geometric tattoos. He loves experimenting with new styles and does not want to restrict himself to any particular style.
A strong advocate of women empowerment, Vikas has collaborated with acid attack fighter Laxmi Aggarwal. In 2017, he actively worked with her organization by conducting tattoo workshops all over India in order to give training and employment to acid attack survivors. He has also helped people with scars by giving them a makeover for life with his art.
He also supports the Space Foundation for stray animals (dogs). “I try and meet Laxmi didi whenever I’m here in the capital. This has empowered me and made me strong, helping me with an ability to contribute towards the society,” concludes the star-artist.
