Interview with Piotr Deadi Dedel

    Hello Piotr Deadi Dedel! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your background. I have always been drawing, as a young boy I liked to watch horror movies. I was waiting for them till the late hours when they were broadcasted on TV, pissing off my parents. After that, I was drawing characters from those movies in secret, because my mom forbade me to do it. She thought, maybe there was something wrong with my mind haha. Later on, a teenage inspiration in punk music and psycho-social philosophy connected with it. I joined my interests. And that's how ambitious my drawing was. Everything I did must have had an artistic meaning, some thoughts to think of. I didn't feel satisfied with the path I'd chosen at the beginning when I was trying to become an architect... But things started to go in good direction on their own. I gave up studying at the university and bought my first tattoo machine. So everything happened by itself. I've always felt that I'm destined to be a tattoo artist.

Q: How long have you been tattooing?
A: I've been tattooing since 2006.

Q: What kind of tattoos you used to like?
A: At the time I liked black and white tattoos only. I had never used any other colors than these... I have started to use other colors after two years of tattooing, so it was four years ago.

Q: Who or what was your biggest inspiration?
A: At the beginning, I knew nobody who could take me off with his tattoos. I liked only few tattoo artists. More inspiration I saw in paintings of artists like Beksinski, Lempicka or Salvador Dali. My friends from the band I was in also inspired me, they were supporting me to grab a machine, and it was them who awoke a hope in me, that someday I will be able to put on people's skins things that I've been doing on a piece of paper. After 3 years of working at home, surprisingly I started a collaboration with Victor Portugal, who I had been working 1,5 year in one studio with. A very important person in my career was also Tofi, who opened my eyes about many issues.

Q: Some people say that it is possible to be self though artist. Your thoughts?
A: I can't say that somebody helped me in developing my skills at the beginning... Actually, I discovered everything by myself by trail end error. Artists that I was asking to give me some tips were mostly closed off. The most important thing for me at that time was to master my skill, so the ink is precisely applied on the skin and heals well.

Q: A few words about your style.
A: I have no idea how to name my style. I think is a mix of surrealism, or saturated realism. Everything I do I do it automatically, there is a lot of improvisation.


Q: What would be the "dream piece"  if someone let you choose their design?
A: I would like somebody to give his (or her) whole body to my disposal haha. Subjectively almost all my works are my "dream piece" because my most of clients are open minded people who trust me, so I usually do what I want.


Q: Do you get caught up in the meaning of your paintings or tattoos, or you keep that separate?
A: Of course the more meaning, the better! Although, in reality I have more freedom in my drawings and I can allow myself bigger chaos. In tattooing everything has to be done perfectly and much more aesthetically, the composition must be more fluent and fit the body. Moreover, in tattoos I like colors more, in paintings the opposite.

Q: What is the best lesson that you learned from your journey?
A: Through art I have understood, that our life depends on ourselves and our attitude to it. A painting doesn't paint itself and to start it self discipline is needed. I have also understood that depending on intuition is very important, listening and taking into consideration the internal voice helps us to choose the right directions. Sometimes improvisation is necessary, giving up schemes and creating new and unknown paths. To be honest, I can't imagine my life without art, to me it is all that makes life exciting.