Mr Lan: From street graffiti to the tattoo parlor

Standing roughly 5’8”, black and white trucker hat perched high atop his head and wispy, wiry growth stemming from his chin, Zhang Lan (aka Mr Lan), 25, is a most unassuming suspect; an inconspicuous b-boy who just so happens to be one of China’s most renowned graffiti artists.

The soft spoken native of Changsha, Hunan fled the southern inlands for Shanghai five years ago to make his mark on the vacant walls and abandoned structures left over from the city’s rapid urban modernization. Now, his soft, discerning eyes are set on a new medium that has him trading his paint cans for the tattoo gun and needle.

Urban art to skin art

I feel a great tattoo and graffiti [have much] in common. The combination of graffiti and tattooing is my greatest wish.

— Mr Lan

“The canvas is the skin,” explains Mr Lan, who opened his branch of Yilong Tattoo a little over three months ago after a yearlong apprenticeship. “Tattoo[ing] takes more care and responsibility.”

Unlike many seasoned tattoo veterans who are often covered in ink, Zhang’s appearance is rather down-to-earth, only a short inscription visible on his left wrist. But that in no way means a lack of ability or aptitude.

“He is doing something very confident and very serious,” comments Abing, Zhang’s mentor and founder of Yilong, who discovered this raw talent in 2008. Abing adds that, in addition to his solid foundation in drawing and painting, Zhang’s destiny as a great tattoo artist is assured because of his attention to “details, endurance [and] responsibility.”

Already owner of a distinct style with a spray can, Mr Lan has equally committed himself to tattooing, citing artists like Japan’s Huang Yan and Frenchman Filip Leu as his main influences.

The local landscape

But, much like the traditional Chinese stereotypes that designate graffiti as a lesser art form, skin art faces a similarly uphill battle for respect and acceptance. However none of this seems to phase Mr Lan. “Chinese people's concept of tattoos is changing,” he says. “Everyone's ideas are opening up more, everyone has a more positive understanding of tattoo art.” Mr Lan’s clientele is predominantly based in the 18-32-year-old demographic, but he still receives the occasional customer in their 60s.

While Mr Lan spent the better part of a year studying basic and advanced tattoo techniques with Abing, he’s now graduated to the rank of full-fledged master, running his own French Concession parlor where he hopes to merge his acclaimed graffiti roots with his new-found passion and profession.

“I feel great tattoos and great graffiti [have much] in common,” states Mr Lan. “The combination of graffiti and tattooing is my greatest wish.”

It’s evident that regardless of the medium, Mr Lan is determined to cement his style as one of China’s premier urban artists, and now that he has a proper venue to display his tattoo skills, there’s nothing holding him back from achieving his goal.

“I will not give up, these two forms [of art] are very special.”

getting there

Yilong Tattoo
Changshu Lu, Lane 108, Bldg 3, near Changle Lu
常熟路108弄3号楼, 近长乐路
tel +86 21 6473 1726