A traveling artist, currently making work in Seattle.

I'm Selimstein, an independent tattoo artist from Izmir, Turkey. I work as a guest and resident across studios around the world, and I'm currently tattooing at Nieu Studio Seattle, taking the time each piece deserves.

ORIGIN

From a coastal town in Western Turkey to studios across World.

Born in Izmir in 1994, I grew up in a small coastal town where I learned to observe silence, nature, and emotion. My earliest connection with art began through writing, a private language I kept hidden, until I realized I could turn those thoughts into visual symbols instead of words.

I started in computer engineering, then followed my instincts and graduated from Ege University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Design in 2019. That training gave me the foundation to merge visual communication, design theory, and fine art into the way I tattoo today.

PRACTICE

Tattooing since 2014. A traveling, individual practice.

I began tattooing in 2014 and have since worked with respected studios across Turkey, including Dirty Five, Roots, Pin Tattoo Gallery Istanbul, TattooBull Izmir, Paradise, and Custom Tattoo Antalya.

Over the past decade I've taken part in more than thirty international conventions and guest spots across Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and Greece, collaborating with hundreds of artists along the way. The work has been recognized with five international awards, including Best of Show and four placings in Best of Neo-Traditional / Traditional.

Between 2022 and 2025 I've also led seminars and workshops for over one hundred artists, supported by TattooBull and Panormos Tattoo, and designed the official poster and award identity for Izmir Tattoo Fest 2024.

STATEMENT

Tradition deconstructed, with room for chaos.

Art, for me, is a form of meditation. It's where emotion becomes structure and silence becomes visible. Each tattoo is a dialogue between permanence and impermanence, between the body that carries it and the idea that inspired it.

My visual language is rooted in Traditional and Neo-Traditional tattooing, but I often deconstruct those frameworks to explore the balance between order and chaos. I'm drawn to bold outlines, symbolic compositions, and warm earthy palettes, red, ochre, olive green, golden yellow, with the influence of Cubism and Surrealism reshaping form along the way.

Philosophy, psychology, and science quietly guide the work. Every piece is a small story that starts with me and lives on through the person who wears it.

WHY SEATTLE

Learning from the home of American Traditional.

I see the United States as both an origin and an inspiration, the birthplace of the Traditional style that shaped my foundation. Working here lets me learn from the history of American Traditional tattooing while contributing a vision shaped by European design, philosophical depth, and years of travel.

For now, you'll find me tattooing at Nieu Studio Seattle by appointment, taking the time each piece deserves, and continuing a conversation between tradition and innovation that I hope will outlast the ink itself.

Selimstein