Koru Tatau

§ Styles

Three languages. One same skin.

Each Polynesian culture has its own graphic grammar. Māori and Samoan are not the same thing. Here I explain the difference, how I approach each tradition, and how I fuse them with respect when the piece calls for it.

01 ——

Tā moko

Tā moko · Kirituhi

Aotearoa · New Zealand · Māori people

The Māori art of tattooing the skin. Curved lines, spirals (koru) and soft symmetry that embrace the anatomy. Tā moko was ceremonial and genealogical; Kirituhi was born as its contemporary counterpart, open to non-Māori.

«Tā moko isn't copied. It's designed on the body, listening.»

Māori tribal tattoo on the chest, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Chest and pectoral
Māori tribal tattoo on the back, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Back
Polynesian tribal tattoo on the shoulder and arm, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Shoulder and arm

02 ——

Tatau

Tatau · Pe'a (men) · Malu (women)

Samoa · etymological origin of the word «tattoo»

Rigid geometric bands, repeated triangles (niho manō) and large solid masses of black ink. The Pe'a covers from the waist to the knees; the Malu goes from the thighs to the knees. A tradition of the bone comb (ʻau) and the mallet (sausau), today adapted with modern technique.

«Samoan doesn't forgive. Every band has its place, its scale, its geometry.»

Polynesian tribal tattoo on an arm band, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Armband
Polynesian tribal tattoo on an arm band, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Armband
Polynesian tribal tattoo on an arm band, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Armband

03 ——

Polynesian tribal

Polynesian · respectful fusion

Polynesian triangle · my signature

My natural ground: I fuse the Polynesian traditions with respect, keeping the syntax (anatomy, symmetry, symbology) with an aesthetic criterion faithful to tradition, adapted to current times and techniques. It's the most requested style in Barcelona.

«Faithful to tradition, adapted to current times and techniques.»

Polynesian tribal tattoo on the back, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Back
Polynesian tribal tattoo on the calf, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Calf
Polynesian tribal tattoo on the chest, designed freehand by Leo Martínez at A Sailor's Grave Tattoo, Granollers (Barcelona).
Chest and pectoral

Which style fits your idea? We decide that in the consultation.

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