October Artist of the Month: Ariane Lapointe
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARIANE LAPOINTE
Ariane Lapointe invites everyone to her ghost club. The tattoo and print artist has become well-known in Vancouver for her whimsical artistry, especially the kindred ghost tattoos uniquely tailored for each client.
The ghosts are everywhere. “People on the street meet each other and spot them. It’s so recognizable,” says Lapointe. The ghost comes in many personalities, from its movement and action to the imagery surrounding it. But, its true form is always a body with a sheet over its head and holes cut out for eyesight. The Halloween costume most of us have considered and many of us have done.
Lapointe’s ghost character represents inclusiveness, anonymity, and innocence of inner playfulness; of the pure child within us: “It’s less about the spookiness, and more about cuteness. It’s this childish character that can do anything.” If you used to escape to imaginary worlds reading books under the covers with a flashlight or playing made-up games under a blanket fort, you may be a good fit for the ghost club.
“What I’m attracted to is adapting minimalist art from fantasy and surrealism that’s inspired by reality. It’s nice to escape from what we always see. The goal in my art is always to do something a bit weirder or more interesting than what we see in real life,” says Lapointe.
From creating original pieces and shapes—like conceiving of new flower species—Lapointe’s art is unique to her own creative expression.
If the ghost club isn’t for you, Lapointe’s other work also focuses on different ways to position bodies to make them feel powerful, adding elements from still lifes like vases or fruit baskets, and finding the right colour aesthetic with a draw towards dark blue, pink, and red.
Just like Lapointe’s tattoo style, her career in tattooing developed organically. From the age of ten, she knew she wanted a tattoo sleeve, and by age eighteen, she was drawing and doing hand poke tattoos for friends. Eventually, friends-of-friends started requesting tattoos, and her technique and skills grew along with her burgeoning clientele.
Once Lapointe arrived in Vancouver at the age of twenty-three after deciding to stay post-trip, she briefly worked in coffee shops before taking tattooing more seriously. “The Vancouver tattoo community is huge and very prolific,” she says. Quite quickly, Lapointe was booked up and she’s continued to be super busy with tattoos five years later.
Currently, Lapointe focuses on custom tattoo work and hopes to find time to put out more art pieces in the coming year. If you’re too excited to wait for her books to open again, she’ll be participating in a flash day for Halloween at her studio, Bebop Ink. Keep a lookout a week before on her Instagram to view the flash pieces that will be available.
