It’s extremely important for tattoo artists to develop their own style and come up with something that separates them from everyone else, and Mentat Gamze found a way. The majority of her tattoos share one small, almost invisible detail—a mysterious red dot.
Before becoming a tattoo artist, Gamze studied German Philology at the Hacettepe University, but found it hard to land a job she was passionate about. Giving tattoo art a try helped her get out of the soul crashing work routine she was stuck in, and she commemorated the change in her life with the red dot.
In Gamze’s case, the tiny crimson mark was a symbol of hope and courage, and a contradiction to burdensome times in her past. Her customers tend to give their own meanings to their dots, and she enjoys helping them tell their stories and carry them on their bodies.
The Turkish artist shared hundreds of tattoos on her Instagram page since starting her creative journey, and they’re true works of art. Some are black and white, while others are bursting with color, but the red dot accompanies all of them and gives them a new layer of meaning.