Grace Neutral: Hand Poke Tattoo Goddess : Noda Luka

Grace Neutral: Hand Poke Tattoo Goddess

at Nov, 19 2015

Get wickedly enchanted by Grace Neutral, a hand poke tattooist and body mods enthusiast who recently walked the mainstream fashion runway.

Photo by Luke Attkinson

Pitch in the modified, pointed ears, the missing belly button, and the forked tongue and you get Grace Neutral, a self-described alien princess with mad hand poke tattooing skills. She's the closest thing you can get to a celestial being. It's as if she went straight out of local mythology minus the omnipresent glow and the levitation.

Courtesy of Ashley Williams SS 16 Collection

Grace Neutral recently walked up a storm on the Ashley Williams “Bad Mood”-themed Spring/Summer '16 runway and turned a lot of curious heads who were probably mesmerised by her purple-tinted eyes. Or maybe it was the stretched nostrils and her numerous scarifications. Not to mention, there's also her exquisite blackwork tattoos adorning every part of her body that we can see. We doubt they even noticed what she's wearing.

Courtesy of Blue Noir Paris Tattoo

The 26-year-old tattoo artist started hand poking in early 2012. She was a practicing piercer for almost four years before she gave tattooing a try. Working as a piercer exposed the young Grace to dotwork and patterns which she immediately fell in love with.

Hand Poke tattoo by Grace Neutral

Despite the basic materials Grace uses in tattooing, her flow is incredible. Her works—with all the bold lines and intricacy—can be mistaken for something done by a tattoo machine. Since then, she learned to work at a surprisingly quick pace, collaborating with other hand poke tattooists, and guest spotting in different tattoo shops in London and Brighton.

Photo by William E. Wright

Motel x Grace Neutral

Aside from body modifications and modelling, Grace also dabbles in the fashion industry. She recently teamed up with fashion brand Motel to release her own clothing line—with Motel blending their ideas with her eclectic style and tastes. So far, a crowd favourite is the Grace Neutral kimono, a geometric patterned kimono-style dress.

Photo by Douglas Irvine

I felt outcast for so long growing up that it’s only now that I really feel myself.
It’s terrifying, yes, but I know I’d be more unhappy looking how I looked before.

Grace Neutral