Alex Binnie (born Alexander Michael Steven Binnie, 11 July 1959,

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

) is a tattooist, and printmaker; he has been a musician and performance artist. As a tattoo artist he is known for being one of a group of artists who originated and popularized the use of large-scale tribal design (non-western, often Polynesian, and also involving elements of fusion across regional boundaries and traditions) in the West. His work reached a wide public with the publication of ''1000 Tattoos'' by

Henk Schiffmacher Hendrikus Johannes Everhardus "Henk" Schiffmacher (born 22 March 1952), also known as Hanky Panky, is a Dutch tattoo artist. He is considered an expert within the field of body decoration, having curated exhibitions, written books, and presented ...

Education and career

Alex Binnie graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art from South Glamorgan Faculty of Art and Design in 1982. He became a medical artist in 1985, first an AV technician at

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

, then a medical illustrator at

United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals The United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals was the name given to the joint medical and dental school formed in London as a result of the merger of Guy's Hospital Medical School, St Thomas's Hospital Medical School a ...

. His first tattoo studio in London was an unlicensed studio called 'Mother Art'. It received some publicity from a newsletter published by Genesis P-Orridge and offered early clients as much tattooing as they could stand in one sitting for 10 pounds sterling. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1991–1993, initially tattooing at the Gauntlet studio in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

managed by his then-wife Elayne Binnie (now

Elayne Angel Elayne Angel (born Elayne Steinberg, August 6, 1960) is an American professional body piercer. Early life and education Angel attended Canoga Park High School and Chatsworth High School. In 1982, she earned an associate degree in Sign Langua ...

owner of ''Rings of Desire'' and author of ''The Piercing Bible''). Following this he worked at ''Body Electric'' on Melrose Ave, and then travelled to Seattle, working with Vyvyn Lazonga. Binnie returned to London in 1993 and established ''Into You Tattoo'' in Clerkenwell. In 2005, he established ''Into You Brighton'' with Jason Mosseri.

Performance

In Los Angeles, along with the association with ''The Gauntlet'' through his wife Elayne, he collaborated with the performance artist

Ron Athey Ron Athey (born December 16, 1961) is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally (especially in the UK and Europe). Athey's work explores challenging ...

, an association which continued after his Los Angeles period, in various international venues, including London's ''Torture Garden''. He also appeared in Catherine Gund Saalfield's film, ''Hallelujah! Ron Athey: A Story of Deliverance (1998)''

Music

Binnie was a founding member of the

power electronics Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. The first high-power electronic devices were made using mercury-arc valves. In modern systems, the conversion is performed with semiconducto ...

trio Pure in the early 1980s, along with Mathew Bower. This was experimental music using guitars to create a confrontational wall of noise, rather than the synthesizers employed by ''

Whitehouse Whitehouse may refer to: People * Charles S. Whitehouse (1921-2001), American diplomat * Cornelius Whitehouse (1796–1883), English engineer and inventor * E. Sheldon Whitehouse (1883-1965), American diplomat * Elliott Whitehouse (born 1993), ...

''. Later he joined John Gosling's Zos Kia.

Other art

Binnie has been involved in printmaking in quite a different style to that of his tattoo work. He is represented by Ink_d in Brighton and Rise in Berlin. In 2010, a woodcut portrait was accepted into the

Royal Academy Summer Exhibition The Summer Exhibition is an open art exhibition held annually by the Royal Academy in Burlington House, Piccadilly in central London, England, during the months of June, July, and August. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, drawings, s ...

in London. He has also created murals in two New York spaces. In May 2012, a selection of Binnie's woodcuts is being published in a limited edition book by Kintaro Publishing. It is titled '' The Woodcut Portraits''.

Personal life

Binnie has two children with his former partner Nicola Bowery (née Bateman) widow and performance partner of performance artist

Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his (sometimes controversial) perform ...

, and a model of painter

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

. In November 2011, Binnie married fellow tattooer Zoe Windle.

References

External links

Into You websiteAlex Binnie websiteRise Gallery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Binnie, Alex 1959 births British tattoo artists English printmakers Living people English performance artists English experimental musicians