Toulouse-based tattoo artist Maxime Gautron—better known as Brindi—boasts an eclectic ink oeuvre. With an interest in Japanese woodblock prints, he predominantly creates contemporary and cartoon-like Japanese style tattoos.

Each inked work of art by Brindi cleverly combines art of the past with modern-day trends and interests. Many of his Japanese tattoos portray a likeness to traditional Ukiyo-e woodblock prints. Ukiyo-e—a term that translates to “pictures of the floating world”—is characterized by a rich and diverse color palette, shallow picture planes, unconventional compositions, and undeniably Japanese subject matter. Many of Brindi’s tattoos are clearly inspired by this art form, and some of them even put a pop culture spin on the prints. Dinosaurs, UFOs, and even The Simpsons are just some of the quirky figures to make unexpected appearances in Brindi’s reimagined Japanese tattoos.

In addition to his fantastic use of allusion, Brindi’s tattoos are also celebrated for their inventive iconography. Though some of them are subtle in their peculiarity and could even pass as standard works of Japanese art, many of his pieces are unmistakably original. From a snake composed of donuts to a modern landscape full of dinosaurs, the whimsical scenes imagined by Brindi perfectly capture his creative spirit and one-of-a-kind approach to body art.

French artist Brindi creates Japanese style tattoos inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.