Tattoo Artist, Luke Satoru shares evolution of a passion in the art-time continuum

Luke Satoru’s laugh is infectious. Hours after the interview I can still hear it. It makes me smile. I mean, not the actual laughter, but the vibrations of his humor and benevolence. The level of openness and sincerity he emanated from the three times we spoke has presumably raised the bar for the connectivity industry.

Satoru is an aesthete who has dedicated his time, the most valuable commodity, to building meanings through illustration, film restoration, jewelry, textile design, and his first love – tattooing. Satoru was a competitive swimmer recruited by Columbia University but with a childhood dream so firmly held, he went to college in New York City studying art. Two decades later, after much inquiry into life, Satoru presently sits at Elefin Coffee in Phra Nakhon, Bangkok, right below his tattoo shop, generously sharing with me his story with passion. It is a special treat interviewing the decorated artist for the second issue of Lens of Passion, there is an abundance to deliberate. 

LoP: Thank you so much for joining us on Lens of Passion. It is an honor to meet you and explore your passion timeline today.
Luke Satoru: Thank you for the opportunity. [grins] I read the first issue and I appreciate the diversity and approach you take to reflect great minds. 

On this platform, we try to examine the word passion and add fuel to our audience’s endeavor by showcasing people who have a distinct idea what it is for them. What does passion mean to you? 
Something that challenges you. It’s not meant to be easy. You persevere, you engage. It has a burning spirit. Once passivity kicks in, it does not work. 

What color do you see when you hear passion?
It would be black. It’s the absorption or reflection of everything. Like a black hole…it consumes.

What is it for you?
The process of active-creating regardless of medium. When I paint, the expression reaches a broader audience, while tattooing is intimate and personal. I find joy in all of them.

My passion can also prosper through a commercial endeavor. I worked in film restoration, jewelry and textile design. I certainly find the communication more transparent when art is linked to a product, something people can use and inherit. Although my education at NYU disillusioned a few things, I learned that when art lives in a physical or functional form –  a product, say a skateboard, it can have a life outside of me and the spirit continues. 

I’m just really passionate about creating connections, to communicate something from within outward.

How did it all begin?
Going back to the idea of communication – I was a very shy kid, the invisible kid in school. [laughs]

Drawing was my thing and I got positive attention from my good drawing. I was into outer space, classic movie monsters, comic book characters, then I got into graphic design and graffiti stuff from there.

My parents were first-generation Americans and we didn’t have big social circles in the US outside of the family. My mom is Japanese and my father is Thai-Chinese so as a mixed kid with this very hyphenated identity, there was a whole lot of not fitting in. For me, tattoos were things I wasn’t born with but I could adopt…I could possess. There was a sense of empowerment, be it a private or public gesture.

Tattooing my body was a decision I made for myself, an identity I chose and not dictated at birth. It transcended the hangups I experienced in all those primary, formative years so the base of my affinity for tattoos started there and has been evolving ever since.

As you shared earlier you’re a man of many worlds. Can you speak to the crystallization of Luke Satoru.
I’m on the outside looking in. Growing up it was clear to me I wasn’t exclusive enough to be part of anything. My family of origin had the Asian-American spirit of two generations reconciling realities. On the bright side, often it feels like my ethnicity and heritage help me understand the world better but I don’t take credit for this capability.

When I share my work with strangers, they’d have designated comments like comic books, Japanese, etc. when the art never looks strictly one to me personally. And I’m comfortable with that. The diversity within me can be enabling, now that I’m older, I no longer need validation from people to feel I have or need a particular place.

Were your parents into art, or tattoos?
They appreciate art and my father certainly has a great eye for things. They do not like tattoos but they have accepted them. My mom shows her support discreetly, she’d pick up cool Japanese head wraps for me everytime she goes back to Japan. I like to wear it around my neck when I work.

What were your first contacts with tattoos?
At 12, I saw a panther tattoo on an old man’s forearm at the Pike Place Market in Seattle; got my first tattoo when I was 15 and at 19, I taught myself and did it on a friend of mine.

The tattoo I got in 1995 cost me 500 baht on Khaosan Road (Central Bangkok) and I had it for a week. End of that week, my uncle lasered it off. I got to stay home. [laughs]

When did you know that tattooing was going to be a centerpiece in your life, that you were going to engage it so unreservedly?
I did not know until I paused on tattooing and did other stuff professionally, went full circle and came back to realizing how much I love tattoos. I was 35 at this point and it felt like coming home – natural, comfortable, familiar. The joy I felt with tattooing was immense. I was very lucky to have friends in the industry who supported me, who understood my intention was real and good. That said, I was petrified at the same time because entering the craft comes with pledging commitment and responsibility to it.

How would you describe your tattooing style? What themes are the most fun for you?
Fine line, black and grey, illustrative, Asian mythology. I aspire to create long-lasting, quality work and I try to compose wisely. I love to tattoo animals, nature, mythological beings and folklore. I’ve had a good amount of success doing tigers, they’re very popular in Thailand. I have great fun with them. 

Let’s dive deeper. What about tattooing that is so enticing?
There’s a lot to say here! [laughs] It is the pursuit of endlessly improving my craft…the pursuit of excellence; and the joy on my clients’ faces I truly relish. 

Internally, tattooing generates a great return that creates intrinsic joy for me; it’s also a journey of betterment and growth in itself. On the external level, I appreciate the connective elements with clients when we collaborate as a team to get the tattoos done well. A good day’s work is really satisfying.

As for the receiving end, aesthetically I love how they look on my body; psychologically it is a discourse for rebellion, empowerment, perspectives and evolution. I do not look at tattooing as a permanent thing, you go through changes in life and tattoos vary in timestream. I enjoy observing the wear and tear, notice how they and I age.

Beautifully said. What is the role of passion in the work you do?
Active-tattooing radiates from it. On site, I experience great joy focusing entirely on the exchanges – of energy between me and the clients, learning about their story, health condition, temperament; and my interaction with the machine, ink, skin. The process is an interactive, two-way street that requires a high level of consciousness.

And, behind the scene, there’s a lot of research, drawing, practice and critique that are being done daily, non-stop. Passion is beyond what you can visually see.

What were the major hurdles in your journey finding and sticking to what you love? How did you navigate through the nays?
My parents were first-generation immigrants. They were busy so there was an absence of structures in my upbringing. When I wanted to go to NYU and had never been to New York before, my father who worked there in the ‘70s, said I was too soft for it. I had to prove to everybody, including myself, that my dream was a valid want. NYU was the only school I applied to, I was that determined because the city, comic books and street art had mesmerized me. Eventually, I got into their studio art program and the first year was freaking intense! 

Now with tattooing, I was incredibly anxious when I first started but the joy I absorbed from active-tattooing powered me through the tough part of the trajectory. I needed to be humble, confident and head-strong all at the same time to persevere through hardships. I guess to summarize it is a combination of arrogance and humility that got me good. And the support from my wife and kids too, for sure, they keep me focused.

How do your kids support you?
Around the time when my firstborn was 2 to 3 years old, he was old enough to ask me to draw something for him, monsters and dinosaurs sort of stuff. It was the first real act that bonded us, father and son, and for each child the connection was the same. My kids brought back drawing for sheer enjoyment and fun for me because at that point I drew for functional purposes at work. They gave me an ikigai moment and my ikigai has only grown since.

My storytelling has definitely improved too. My youngest one is three now and I make up stories for him. They are regulars at the shop – we do our projects, I make their Halloween costumes. My mom handmade a superman cape for me when I was a kid and I’ve inherited this little tradition. I made awesome DJ Marshmallow helmets for mine this year!

To backtrack a bit, you moved to Bangkok in 2006. Has the change of geographical location impacted any part of you, and your passion?
Huge impact. I got married here and my children were born here. This has been the first large bulk of time I am able to play witness to my Thai side of heritage in a sincere way. Here, I appreciate the rich cultures of Japanese and Thai iconology more. I go deeper into research of love, practices of mind and so forth, which keeps things super exciting. I am familiar with customs in Thailand and I adhere to all of them. It has helped me become even more aware and polite.

Artistically speaking, I continue to be multifaceted. I don’t have to strictly be an Asian or American artist.

Can you tell us about Black Pig Tattoo Bangkok?
I started the shop in 2016. We are three full-time tattooists working here and during non-COVID times we’d have guest artists with us almost every month. The original location was in Bangkrat and now we’re closer to Old Town, Grand Palace and the main river.

My business is a four-storey operation: 1/F is a Thai restaurant and cafe, 2/F and 3/F is Bed and Breakfast, 4/F is the tattoo shop. The entire space is professional, comfortable and friendly. There’s a lot of laughing.

If your life were a tattoo, what would it be?
A phoenix, which is on my back. Well, that’s what my ideal would be, my wife or best friend may tell you a different image! [laughs] 

You know, ashes, rebirth, continual, renewal, reaching a better version of myself, let live through forgiveness. I’m not a perfect being, I make mistakes and I always come back.

While we are generally more relaxed about body modifications, they are still considered deviant in some cultures. What is your experience?
I get pulled over often so profiling does happen but it does not bother me. I can get away with covering up with say, a suit. There are people out there who have to deal with much bigger struggles.

The word passion comes from Latin root pati-, meaning suffering, or enduring. Bleeding is inextricable in your craft. How do you view pain?
The reward feels greater because you endure the suffering and survive. 

Researchers study harmonious and obsessive passion, love and limerence. Where is the sweet spot?
It’s hard to succeed without passion but too much of it may destroy you. You need the control. I’m trying to find that desirable place too, with my family and business.

Coming back to your passion, what is the next chapter?
On the personal, creative level, I would love to establish my own style of Thai-Japanese, really finding a way to melt the two and make it easily recognized, “Oh that’s Luke Satoru!”. I’m not quite there yet but it is starting to show. On the work level, I want to create a healthy, positive work space where everyone is doing well. I like to see people succeed. 

If you could collaborate with anyone, in any field, for any cause, what would the #1 project idea be? 
Living or dead? 

Either.
Oh my goodness, that’s terrible! [laughs] There are so many people I’d love to meet but I guess to work with might be a different thing so…

Nina Simone, the classical pianist, jazz singer who was very prophetic in the civil rights movement. All of her life, what she represented, are so beautiful. I’d love the opportunity to hear her speak, listen to her thoughts and get creative direction from her. I think it would be an extremely challenging collaboration but if I can create a commissioned piece, guided by her art direction, no matter what it is, I’ll do it. 

Can you share a word of advice to people out there who love art but are told there is little future in it?
If you are passionate about something that does not pay the bills, my advice is work and make money to a point where you have freedom to choose. Pragmatism to an extent helps build the dream and with the freedom I mentioned, you don’t have to compromise your art. It was a lesson I had to learn too.

Thank you for taking the time to share your story with us.
Last question: Is there a message you want to post to the world?
Be good to each other. It does not mean you have to agree on everything but do take time to absorb, reflect and see if you can expand on people’s understanding too.
My artistic practice drives me to understand my clients and the world, it is perspective building. I believe people share more similarities than differences. 

You can connect with Luke personally and find out more about Black Pig Tattoo at:

Say hi to Luke | Follow Black Pig Tattoo | See more of Luke’s art

Author’s note:

Interviewing Luke Satoru was a gift, one that lasts a few Christmases.

Legend has it, in solitary and from the ashes, 
a sacred bird can self-regenerate and transform
from pain to a newer, truer existence.

Perhaps we all can.

Dear Readers,

Where are you in your creative, reinventing process?

We look forward to connecting with you. You can subscribe to Lens of Passion in the lower right corner, or follow us on https://www.instagram.com/lensofpassionofficial/

See you soon.
LoP