A black and white view of a tattoo studio interior, featuring a central treatment chair surrounded by equipment, cabinets, and soft studio lighting.
A tattooed man sits at a dark desk, looking at a tablet displaying design grids while holding a stylus over a paper sketch.
A tattooed man wearing a dark hoodie stands in a brightly lit room, preparing equipment at a table.
A gloved hand dips a tattoo machine into a small ink cup from a line of pigment containers.
A gloved hand holding a tattoo machine applies ink to skin in a close-up black and white shot.
A tattoo artist works on a client lying on an adjustable chair inside a bright studio.
A tattooed man concentrates as he tattoos another man lying on a table in a monochrome indoor shot.
Close-up in black and white of gloved hands tattooing a detailed design onto an arm.
A man lies on his stomach on a treatment chair while a tattoo artist works on his arm, in a black and white overhead shot.
A person sits in a chair while another person tattoos their arm, looking down at a mobile phone in their hand.
A tattooed man leans over a man lying on a salon table, working on his chest with a tattoo machine in a black and white photograph.
A gloved hand wipes a heavily tattooed arm in a close-up black and white shot.

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Project

Chiara Ink

Black and white documentary photography series about tattoo artist Tamás Borbás, founder of Chiara Ink, capturing a tattoo creation in 2022.

Type
Gallery
Location
Switzerland
Project
2022
Published
12 August 2026

I first met Tamás Borbás in 2019, when I got my first tattoos done by him. I was really happy with his work, but I also liked his attitude and personality from the beginning.

A few years later, when I started studying photography, I was looking for a subject for a documentary project at school and asked Tamás if he would be interested. He liked the idea of having some photographs taken while he worked, so in 2022 we documented the process of creating a tattoo together.

The idea was to make a black-and-white reportage series that showed not only the tattoo itself, but also Tamás, the way he works, and the atmosphere of his studio. Alongside the photographs, I also made a short video following the process.

Working together felt very natural, and it gave me the chance to stay close to what was happening while still approaching it as an observer.

Behind the camera

Dávid Hosszú

Monochrome studio portrait of a man with a beard and hair tied in a bun, looking downward against a plain background.

I approach long-term projects as open studies of identity, place, and human experience. I’m curious about the patterns we share and the details that make us unique, the way expressions, posture, environment, and movement can tell parts of our stories.

My work combines observation, technical experimentation, and a genuine interest in the people and contexts I photograph. Whether I’m working with portraits or with the surrounding world, I try to create images that are both aesthetically refined and connected to simple questions with complex answers: Where do we come from? How do we shape each other? And what traces do we leave behind?

Read more about David

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