Photographs of mine, some taken with my camera, others with my phone
Sacred Heart Tattoo -- Little Five Points, Atlanta
About Sacred Heart
The thick, metal door squeaks open and Linkin Park’s “Easier to Run” booms through the tattoo parlor. The faint sound of a tattoo gun’s buzzing echoes to the front of the shop and a thickly tattooed and heavily pierced young man greets me, smiling. “What can we do for you at Sacred Heart?” he asks.
Sacred Heart is a tattoo shop located in Little Five Points, Atlanta. It was established in 1994 by Tony Olivas, general manager and owner of the shop. Olivas employs six tattoo artists in the shop, all well trained with years of experience and apprenticeships. The goal of Sacred Heart is to cater to its customers. While there are hundreds of designs available, most hand-drawn by the tattooists, the shop encourages its customers to bring in sketches and ideas of their own to make the tattoo more personal.
I was first attracted to the shop because of the area. Little Five Points is, undoubtedly, a “funky” area. The characters that spend time in the square and the shop owners are unique in a quirky sense. Sacred Heart attracts these people: the out-of-the-ordinary, not businessmen type, the people whose stories are, perhaps, tattooed on their arms or necks or even faces. The tattoo shop has a story to tell, and so too do tattoos. The most successful tattoos, in my opinion, are more than just permanent ink on one’s skin. They represent something — whether it’s someone’s story or a belief or a reminder of some sort. With tattoos being drawn and inked on people every day, the shop, while only 19 years old, is filled with stories and history. It may be hidden in photos of the tattoos, but the history is there.
Little Five Points has history of its own. Established in the early 1900s, it’s been called the Bohemian center of the Southern United States. The area has seen its ups and downs but today thrives with small, alternative businesses, an indie rock radio station, several independent record labels, fun restaurants and of course, wacky people. Each shop, each café and each sidewalk block has some story connected to it and some history attached. The area is alive with culture, and Sacred Heart adds its own story to Little Five Points, breaking down the traditionally negative stereotypes associated with tattoo artists and customers.
The smiling tattoo artist who greets me when I walk in the shop breaks the first stereotype that tattoo artists are mean, impolite hard-asses. Eddy is covered in tattoos and has large gauges in his ears, but his smile is warm and he laughs kindly as I explain why I am here for a second time. He directs me to his manager, who is working with a customer. Again explaining that I’m back at the shop to re-shoot my video because I previously shot in portrait mode rather than landscape format, Loki, the manager, turns to his customer, asking, “Do you mind if she films you?”
A tall, thick black man looks up from the table he’s lying on and half shrugs. “Sure,” he says, “As long as you don’t catch me when I’m crying from this.” Laughing, I assure him that I’ll film around the tears. He has just broken stereotype number two: that people with tattoos are pain-conquering hard-asses with no sense of humor or kindness.
The other tattoo artists smile at me as I walk around the shop with my camera. The atmosphere is inviting. By breaking down the stereotypes, Sacred Heart invites more people to ink their stories onto themselves. The shop’s warm feel tempts people to tell their story and to place history permanently under their skin, just as Little Five Points’ history lies in its streets, its sidewalks, its shops and its people.
Sacred Heart is a tattoo shop located in Little Five Points, Atlanta. It was established in 1994 by Tony Olivas, general manager and owner of the shop. Olivas employs six tattoo artists in the shop, all well trained with years of experience and apprenticeships. The goal of Sacred Heart is to cater to its customers. While there are hundreds of designs available, most hand-drawn by the tattooists, the shop encourages its customers to bring in sketches and ideas of their own to make the tattoo more personal.
I was first attracted to the shop because of the area. Little Five Points is, undoubtedly, a “funky” area. The characters that spend time in the square and the shop owners are unique in a quirky sense. Sacred Heart attracts these people: the out-of-the-ordinary, not businessmen type, the people whose stories are, perhaps, tattooed on their arms or necks or even faces. The tattoo shop has a story to tell, and so too do tattoos. The most successful tattoos, in my opinion, are more than just permanent ink on one’s skin. They represent something — whether it’s someone’s story or a belief or a reminder of some sort. With tattoos being drawn and inked on people every day, the shop, while only 19 years old, is filled with stories and history. It may be hidden in photos of the tattoos, but the history is there.
Little Five Points has history of its own. Established in the early 1900s, it’s been called the Bohemian center of the Southern United States. The area has seen its ups and downs but today thrives with small, alternative businesses, an indie rock radio station, several independent record labels, fun restaurants and of course, wacky people. Each shop, each café and each sidewalk block has some story connected to it and some history attached. The area is alive with culture, and Sacred Heart adds its own story to Little Five Points, breaking down the traditionally negative stereotypes associated with tattoo artists and customers.
The smiling tattoo artist who greets me when I walk in the shop breaks the first stereotype that tattoo artists are mean, impolite hard-asses. Eddy is covered in tattoos and has large gauges in his ears, but his smile is warm and he laughs kindly as I explain why I am here for a second time. He directs me to his manager, who is working with a customer. Again explaining that I’m back at the shop to re-shoot my video because I previously shot in portrait mode rather than landscape format, Loki, the manager, turns to his customer, asking, “Do you mind if she films you?”
A tall, thick black man looks up from the table he’s lying on and half shrugs. “Sure,” he says, “As long as you don’t catch me when I’m crying from this.” Laughing, I assure him that I’ll film around the tears. He has just broken stereotype number two: that people with tattoos are pain-conquering hard-asses with no sense of humor or kindness.
The other tattoo artists smile at me as I walk around the shop with my camera. The atmosphere is inviting. By breaking down the stereotypes, Sacred Heart invites more people to ink their stories onto themselves. The shop’s warm feel tempts people to tell their story and to place history permanently under their skin, just as Little Five Points’ history lies in its streets, its sidewalks, its shops and its people.