Annie Concepcion: The Art and the Artist
For Annie Concepcion, who built her career at the intersection of painting and tattooing, the body has become a site where memory and craft meet.
“May favorite pa ba ‘ko? Ang dami na e,” Annie Concepcion, probably one of the most sought after tattoo artists in Manila, laughs when asked which tattoo on her body she loves most.
She pauses for a moment before landing on an answer: “I think my favorite is the portrait of my daughter,” she says, pointing to the baby tattoo on her left arm, a sweet reminder of her daughter at six months old, and of why she does what she does.
Concepcion, who has a background in painting, wears tattoos (some inked by herself, some by friends) proudly on her skin, and although she still encounters the old-school mindset that “bad people get tattoos,” she acknowledges that times are finally changing. “Younger generations get more tattoos. More women get tattoos,” she observes.
The craft, for her, has always carried depth and sentiment. “It’s not just cool,” she says. “It’s like it’s a memorabilia of that person – that this is what’s important to [them].”
Art direction by Nicole Almero. Beauty direction by Leira Aquino. Makeup by Lala Flores. Hair by JA Feliciano. Styling by Geno Espidol and Jermainne Lagura of Qurator. Nails by Extraordinail.
