On view from September 20 2025 at the Forum
Especially for the TATTOO exhibition, we collaborated with the Groninger City Club (GCC) to create TATTOO Stories - The Route: a series of portraits of Groningen entrepreneurs, residents and tattoo artists, featuring their tattoos and the personal stories behind them.
These impressive photographs by Sebastiaan Rodenhuis are on view on the exhibition square (4th floor) of the Forum, from 20 September 2025. The portraits were previously on display from 27 June to 27 July 2025 in more than twenty shop windows and restaurants in the city centre of Groningen.
TATTOO Stories - The Route is free to visit. For the TATTOO-exhibition you need a ticket (see forum.nl/tattoo).
Yes, I have tattoos. Not to look cool or because they have a deep meaning, just because I like them. Just as others hang art on their walls, I wear it on my skin. There's often a stigma attached to having tattoos, but with my smile, sense of humour, and love for coffee (and matcha), that quickly disappears. I'm 24, I run my own coffee shop on one of the busiest streets in Groningen. And now you can see me here, life-size!
I have always found tattoos very beautiful. After my wife passed away on 6 December 2017, I got my first tattoo on 8 September 2018. The E, the first letter of my wife's first name, with a red heart inside. Soon, the initials of my grandchildren were added. On my back, I had a photo of my wife tattooed, which means a lot to me. I also had a sunflower and a honeybee tattooed on my shoulders. When he was 9 years old, my grandson was the children's city poet of Groningen. His poem was about a honeybee and a sunflower. My wife thought it was our grandson's most beautiful poem. At my wife's cremation, our grandson recited that poem one more time. I don't like the connected tattoos that many people have; I get all my tattoos from the internet. Soon I want to get a giraffe tattooed as a reminder of Namibia, where I went on a tour.
The tattoos on my left arm are dedicated to my daughter Mala. Either she drew them herself or they are designs from a film or anime that WE binge-watched together. These include Harry Potter, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Spirited Away and The Blue Eye Samurai. Proud nerd and proud dad.
From the age of 11, he hung around Karel's shop, and at 14, he got his first tattoo from Karel. He quickly realised that he wanted to do “that” too. At that time, he was also very active in graffiti, with a strong drive to perform and achieve results. He also hung out a lot at Tattoo Wim and Rinto. Good times. I started my own shop, proudly supporting myself and taking good care of my family. Ben and Emil were my apprentices. They are both doing fantastic now! I am proud of the boys. I have been working with the boys in the shop for 2.5 years now. José's illness brought us here. More time together. Without her, I would not be where I am today. Viva La Vida, Da Tonk.
My tattoos are a mix of styles: from children's drawings and fun tattoos to work by artists I look up to. Not everything has to have a meaning. I love colour, fun and images that make you happy. An autograph from Jan Smit, a drawing by my nephew and niece, colourful, cheerful images: everything mixed together. For me, it's all about expression and cheerfulness. The world could use a little more colour!
The work on my body consists of years of changing my mind into what direction I evolve as a human. You can see it as it progresses from tattoos dedicated to my family, to color work to blackwork neotribal coverups and blastovers. With addition of white ink accents on my face as an experiment in customizing my avatar as if i'm in a fun fantasy game. Tattoos are my life's career and my greatest passion as well as means to express my creative inside outwardly. It's also my personal means to prove to myself that I can do anything I set my mind to and i'm patient and determined enough to push through towards my goals.
At the beginning of this year, my son Lucas and I got tattoos at Henk Schiffmacher's shop. It was Lucas' idea to honour his father/my partner, the artist Frank Daalder, who passed away in 2016, with a tattoo of one of his artworks, a gouache painting of a deer. The date was set for 7 February, which would have been Frank's 75th birthday. We are very happy with our tattoos. A memory and a form of connection for life ❣
The heart tattoo is a tribute to Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. The fact that it's also a badass tattoo is a nice bonus. I am very proud to be a “boss” in our beautiful city of Groningen.
My tattoos are an extension of myself, some with meaning and some that I think represent me without having any meaning.
My tattoos make me Hidde.
I like that they are permanent. That way, they live with me.
Our tattoos reflect what makes us happy. For example, Frank has a drawing of a chef on his arm, made by one of his children, and he has cooking utensils that refer to Brownies & Downies. The flowers on Nicole's arm are a reminder to do what makes you happy now and have references to her children.
My tattoos don't have a story. At least, that's what I always thought. Until you look closely. Not at the image, but at what's behind it. Every tattoo on my body is connected to a moment, a period, a feeling. They are memories of friendships, travels, difficult days and unexpectedly beautiful nights. They remind me of who I was at the time I had them done and sometimes also of who I no longer am.
In Greek mythology, the phoenix represents resurrection, and in China it symbolises femininity. For me, it is an ode to transformation: the courage to let go of the old and the daring to step into something new. As D.H. Lawrence wrote: “Are you willing to become nothing? Immersed in oblivion? If not, you will never truly change.”
With every tattoo, I understand tattooing a little better. Contemporary folk art, which I am privileged to be a part of. I want to know everything about tattooing. I read about it. And I like to collect everything related to it. It is simply a collection of what I find beautiful. By people I find beautiful. Just as I like to have my favourite records on LP in my cabinet, I want my favourite images on my skin.
My skin tells stories, captured in ink. The #N8 on my upper arm reminds me of my time as Groningen's first night mayor. For me, the #N8 is a symbol of passion for the night, where freedom and creativity come together. Each tattoo is a philosophical anchor, a lasting proof of a personally meaningful memory.
My old art teacher Gerard Schriemer designs all my tattoos. I learned much more from him than from all the art academies put together. When I was 13, I really wanted a tattoo, but of course that wasn't allowed, so he painted tattoos on me instead. Now, 18 years later, I finally have two real tattoos on my body and the third is in the works. The newest one is this bird woman on my arm. All my life I have been fascinated by fairy tales, especially bird women. Partly because of this bird thing, my friends have been calling me Roek since primary school. Jugendstil is one of the most important sources of inspiration for my illustration work. It was a movement in which people consciously began to design with nature for the first time. And that's what I try to do too, find and depict fairy tales that really exist. So the tattoo is basically everything my company stands for in one symbol. Ines van Hinkart has cast her own tattoo magic on Gerard's painting, resulting in an amazing piece that will hopefully stay with me for the rest of my life.
When I got my first tattoo at the age of 19, my mother wasn't very happy. Now I have about 50 tattoos and she is also immortalised on my body. I see my tattoos as an addition, decoration and a big part of my identity. It's a colourful collection of things I stand for. My ADHD, love of music and appreciation for Japanese art. To anyone who's unsure about getting their first tattoo: just do it. You won't regret it, and it won't be your last.
Sebastiaan took the portraits for the Tattoo Stories photo exhibition.
Tattoos mean different things to me. I really love the art form itself. Almost everything I have is old school or traditional. Some of my tattoos have meaning, remind me of certain moments or are for my children or my wife. But many were also done simply because I liked the image. Not everything has to have a deep meaning; sometimes a beautiful image is enough.
For the TATTOO exhibition, Siese has portrayed Henk Schiffmacher, Douwe Bob, Robert Jan Rietveld, Anne Veenendaal, and others.
Twenty years old in Thailand, a bamboo tattoo on my rib cage. The initials of my four brothers. Would I get it done again today? Perhaps not. But I don't regret it. It reminds me of the power of impulsiveness — a trait that comes in handy as an entrepreneur. I now know that connection is not a given. Not even with your brothers. The bond has faded. But what remains is the foundation. Just like the mark on my skin.
