We recently got the chance to speak with Joshua Reynolds, and ask him a few questions about his work, his art and his connection to the Hardcore scene.
The first thing we wanted to ask was what pushed the change, pushed the move to House of Wolves Tattoo. Joshua explained that the move really boiled down to finding the right work/life balance to ensure he could manage family life. An added bonus was acquiring the chance to work along-side some legendary tattooists, artists that have been a part of the Bay City tattoo scene for almost 20 years. We have definitely noticed plenty of artists have made the move, back and forth, to Melbourne, however, Joshua has no interest, he’s happy here, and has no interest in working in the City again. Stating that he loves living in Geelong and being part of the local community, he expanded; “whether it’s the music and hardcore scene or just hanging out with other tattooers around town. It’s sick being part of such a strong, tight-knit crew”.
Joshua believes that the Bay City tattoo scene has always had a bit more of an old-school attitude, but just like everything else, so much of tattooing is now driven by social media. Since moving back from Melbourne, where he worked for half his career, Joshua has realised he finds a lot of the modern elements of tattooing pretty frustrating. He stated, “living in a town where word of mouth and local shows still mean something keeps it real”. The idea of meeting new clients and mates in this way makes Joshua feel fulfilled as an artist, “it’s something really special to have, in my opinion”.
Joshua went on to tell us about how much tattooing has simply become a part of who he is. Most of his interests have developed from tattooing, “my love for counterculture and all that definitely started there”. Even though tattooing is super normalised nowadays, Joshua appreciates those fringe spaces that it spawned from, "artists, weirdos, punks … that's always been the crowd I’ve been drawn to”.
You may have put it together but, if you haven’t yet; Joshua is the artist behind Lay Low’s recent EP release, “COLD”, and subsequently the artwork on the merchandise we released in collaboration for the launch. It is obvious that Joshua’s artwork carries a raw, unfiltered energy, so we questioned where that comes from. The explanation laid within Joshua’s inspiration for tattooing, the West Coast American traditional style; “That vibe kind of bleeds into everything else I do — album art, merch, whatever”. Joshua specifically mentioned bootleg and vintage band tees as an additional inspiration he pulls from when creating artwork for bands, making sure to maintain the “in-your-face” imagery. There is no doubt that the way Joshua draws has been influenced by his tattoo career.
Joshua admits that music inspires a lot of his work. He’s always been drawn to goth and punk imagery, and believes it really shows in his tattooing. The religious elements scattered throughout his work are simply there because, “it’s just cool goth shit”.
