Culture & Diaspora: Meeting with Yantrak, a generous, talented and demanding Cambodian tattoo artist

Yantrak is a Franco-Cambodian tattoo artist who has been working in Paris since the late 2000s. His favourite artistic field is Khmer Sakyant, also known as Yantra or Sak Yant.

We got to know each other not for a tattoo, but for his love of Khmer culture and his desire to have sakyant recognised and rehabilitated as an integral part of his culture.

To this end, Yantrak is being dispatched to the Srok in August 2019, to carry out an initiation in Siem Reap with monks specialising in the art of our magical tattoos. Art in general has always attracted him, whether it's drawing or manga, a genuine passion for him.

Connecting with Asia

However, the artist began to take a real interest in tattooing in 2008, on his return from Canada, which at the time was steeped in American influence, and as a result of meeting many tattoo enthusiasts there.

Yantrak seized the opportunity to learn this craft, because it also allowed him to connect with Asia, of which he has now become a fervent representative through the Khmer Sakyant.

Yantrak began by drawing assiduously and, after a year in the business, turned his attention to these Khmer Sakyants. He went on to develop the subject, thanks in particular to the support of his team, who organised the now-famous ‘SAKYANT DAY’, which had an impact throughout France. The choice of his style became increasingly obvious to him:

“Sakyant represents Cambodia, and through this art, I hope to pass on our culture and ensure that it lives on.”

Through his meticulous training, he also hopes to make this ancestral art accessible in Europe and France, not only to Asians, but also to people from other backgrounds.

Above: His three favourite Sakyant designs

“My greatest achievement is still my first full sakyant back”.

Various inspirations

Yanktra has since extended his skills to anime and manga, his other great passion. But he's been demanding with himself and his sakyants, and has only been doing this type of tattooing for a short time. His inspiration comes from the Starasian Tattoo-Team and Thanh Starasian, as he used to get tattoos there before becoming the artist he is today.

Beyond that, Yantrak appreciates many other tattoo artists, more for admiring their work than for being inspired by it. These include Mister K, Kubrick good and Fetattoer.

Yanktra is also particularly fond of manga tattoos. As far as the difficulty of her work is concerned, the artist doesn't see any complex creations, apart perhaps from the choice of tattoo area, with some proving trickier than others to work on.

Faithful and honest about his own conception of this art, Yanktra will always refuse to do a tattoo that doesn't correspond to his style and for which he thinks other colleagues are better qualified.

He is also pleased to be able to use his sakyant to help Khmer culture grow. He also believes that this field is open to all cultures:

“The professional tattooist will always be judged on his art and his work, and not on his ethnic origin”.

Humanitarian commitment

Yantrak is the driving force behind ‘Sakyant days’, a day organised every year when people can come and get a tattoo without an appointment, with the proceeds going to charities in Cambodia. He also travelled to Cambodia to provide school supplies to two schools: Tinytoones and CPEF.

Finally, Yantrak was one of the next faces in Cambodian photographer CHARLY HO's ‘WHY ME FACE’ campaign, an artistic initiative designed to showcase Khmer talent in France.

You can follow Yantrak on his Instagram account:https://instagram.com/yantrak_starasian

By Asian Vibes 2.0 team:

Déborah Om —Zakhyyia Vavra —Philippe Yang —Jiraya Pochan —David Vid et Chantha R.