ABOUT
hi, i’m azize ngo :)
tattooing expanded what i thought was possible in this realm and guided me toward my kin. tattooing has been a conduit through which i experience bodily autonomy, belonging, and creative expression in ways i’ve never felt through any other medium.
my practice is guided by my intuition - primarily translating drawn or digital randomness into thoughtfully composed designs. my process pivots on collaboration, intentionality, and experimentation: all of which feel most true to me. my priority is to facilitate a grounding experience in which people of all body types, skin tones, genders, and experiences with body modification feel cared for, heard, and inspired.
i believe our bodies are living archives - i offer cover-ups/reworks for scars and other tattoos on a case-by-case basis. if any of this is up your alley, let’s chat.
private studio -
multnomah land a.k.a “portland, oregon”
@trans.quility
context:
trans (prefix) - "across, beyond, through, or such as to change”
tranquil - “free from turmoil”
transquility - a state of harmony through persistent change in form
i created this word for use as a creative tuning fork. it describes the flow imbued within improvisational jazz, the hypnotic focus of sex, dancing with strangers, or getting tattooed. i’m talking about the moments in which we become channels for the divine by letting go and following our intuition.
specifically, i’m referring to the inevitability of change, everywhere. at its best, practicing transquility will prepare me to transmute the energy of shifting winds into something beautiful. my practice is intended to defy, iterate, and continually (re)create myself.
after many years of existential cynicism, this framework has given me a lens through which i occasionally find solace in the absurdity of life.
more context for the curious:
i was brought into this world by a Turkish, Muslim mother, and a Catholic, Vietnamese father. if “opposites attract” and “survival tactics” came together with a volatile shelf life, it would be my parents.
they were supportive but in the well-meaning-yet-traditional-immigrant kind of way. i studied cognitive science in college and spent several years post-grad researching how adolescent trauma informs adult psychoneuroimmunology. in so many words, marks left on us by the shit we endure transform us in both material & immaterial ways. eventually i realized there was only so much i could do to change a system (western medicine) designed to negate healing; thus tattooing became the perfect medium to blend my art practice with my understanding of anatomy. it’s a beautiful thing to witness transformation from marks made consensually and collaboratively. with lots of encouragement and a gift from my partner, i pivoted and took up needlework creatively in 2021. i’m much happier for it.
tattooing is an exercise in trust, communication, and nerve. this is blood magic - a significant effort to alter reality; tattooing teaches us how to expand our tolerance for pain in this world of suffering. it teaches us how far the mind and body can stretch and what it means to remember.
for millennium humans have used tattoos to heal, weave narratives, build community, cast spells, and bring our bodies closer to our visions of them. by withstanding our environment, experiencing ritualistic changes to our bodies, we might grow to love and imbue outselves in it. this affirms my belief that our bodies resemble clay, in that they hold a memory of how they’ve been handled, and they transform under special circumstances. this sacred practice, i hope, will leave you becalmed, in stasis, forever changed.
︎
ABOUT
hi, i’m azize ngo :)
tattooing expanded what i thought was possible in this realm and guided me toward my kin. tattooing has been a conduit through which i experience bodily autonomy, belonging, and creative expression in ways i’ve never felt through any other medium.
my practice is guided by my intuition - primarily translating drawn or digital randomness into thoughtfully composed designs. my process pivots on collaboration, intentionality, and experimentation: all of which feel most true to me. my priority is to facilitate a grounding experience in which people of all body types, skin tones, genders, and experiences with body modification feel cared for, heard, and inspired.
i believe our bodies are living archives - i offer cover-ups/reworks for scars and other tattoos on a case-by-case basis. if any of this is up your alley, let’s chat.
private studio - multnomah land a.k.a “portland, oregon”
tattooing expanded what i thought was possible in this realm and guided me toward my kin. tattooing has been a conduit through which i experience bodily autonomy, belonging, and creative expression in ways i’ve never felt through any other medium.
my practice is guided by my intuition - primarily translating drawn or digital randomness into thoughtfully composed designs. my process pivots on collaboration, intentionality, and experimentation: all of which feel most true to me. my priority is to facilitate a grounding experience in which people of all body types, skin tones, genders, and experiences with body modification feel cared for, heard, and inspired.
i believe our bodies are living archives - i offer cover-ups/reworks for scars and other tattoos on a case-by-case basis. if any of this is up your alley, let’s chat.
private studio - multnomah land a.k.a “portland, oregon”
my practice is guided by my intuition - primarily translating drawn or digital randomness into thoughtfully composed designs. my process pivots on collaboration, intentionality, and experimentation: all of which feel most true to me. my priority is to facilitate a grounding experience in which people of all body types, skin tones, genders, and experiences with body modification feel cared for, heard, and inspired.
i believe our bodies are living archives - i offer cover-ups/reworks for scars and other tattoos on a case-by-case basis. if any of this is up your alley, let’s chat.
private studio - multnomah land a.k.a “portland, oregon”
@trans.quility
context:
trans (prefix) - "across, beyond, through, or such as to change”
tranquil - “free from turmoil”
transquility - a state of harmony through persistent change in form
i created this word for use as a creative tuning fork. it describes the flow imbued within improvisational jazz, the hypnotic focus of sex, dancing with strangers, or getting tattooed. i’m talking about the moments in which we become channels for the divine by letting go and following our intuition.
specifically, i’m referring to the inevitability of change, everywhere. at its best, practicing transquility will prepare me to transmute the energy of shifting winds into something beautiful. my practice is intended to defy, iterate, and continually (re)create myself.
after many years of existential cynicism, this framework has given me a lens through which i occasionally find solace in the absurdity of life.
more context for the curious:
i was brought into this world by a Turkish, Muslim mother, and a Catholic, Vietnamese father. if “opposites attract” and “survival tactics” came together with a volatile shelf life, it would be my parents.
they were supportive but in the well-meaning-yet-traditional-immigrant kind of way. i studied cognitive science in college and spent several years post-grad researching how adolescent trauma informs adult psychoneuroimmunology. in so many words, marks left on us by the shit we endure transform us in both material & immaterial ways.eventually i realized there was only so much i could do to change a system (western medicine) designed to negate healing; thus tattooing became the perfect medium to blend my art practice with my understanding of anatomy. it’s a beautiful thing to witness transformation from marks made consensually and collaboratively. with lots of encouragement and a gift from my partner, i pivoted and took up needlework creatively in 2021. i’m much happier for it.
tattooing is an exercise in trust, communication, and nerve. this is blood magic - a significant effort to alter reality; tattooing teaches us how to expand our tolerance for pain in this world of suffering. it teaches us how far the mind and body can stretch and what it means to remember.
for millennium humans have used tattoos to heal, weave narratives, build community, cast spells, and bring our bodies closer to our visions of them. by withstanding our environment, experiencing ritualistic changes to our bodies, we might grow to love and imbue outselves in it. this affirms my belief that our bodies resemble clay, in that they hold a memory of how they’ve been handled, and they transform under special circumstances.this sacred practice, i hope, will leave you becalmed, in stasis, forever changed.
︎