 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The young Johnny Two-Thumb :-Mr Indra Bahadur |
Mr Indra Bahadur in his 60s.
| The late Johnny Two-Thumb :- Mr Indra Bahadur |
| Johnny Two-Thumb's son :- Mr Harka Bahadur (Richard Tat) |
| Johnny Two-Thumb's granddaughter :-Ms Sumitra ( Su Tattoo) |
| From one generation to another generation- |
| The sailors and soldiers getting inked by Johnny Two Thumb in the 50s. |
Johnny Two Thumb and His Legacy.
Singapore's first pioneer tattoo artist with a reputation and fame that spanned across the oceans.
Johnny Two-Thumb was his trade name given by British soldiers who were his clients and his real name was
Mr. Indra Bahadur s/o Ram Sing.
Of Nepalese origin, he was born in 1924 in Falam, the capital of Chin State in Burma (Myanmar). He learnt
tattooing from an old tattoo artist who became his guru somewhere in the north-eastern part of India across
the border with Burma during Second World War just before the Allied Forces pushed into Japanese-held
Burma at the Battle of Impal.
After the war, he opened a tattoo shop at Sule Pagoda in Rangoon the capital of Burma. Not very long after,
he left for Singapore which was still under British rule where the British Far East Command was stationed.
Sailors of the Royal Navy and tattoos always went hand in hand and the Naval Base in Sembawang made
sure that customers always kept Johnny Two Thumb very busy. In the Seventies, the Vietnam war made
sure a steady stream of U.S. Marines and sailors of the U.S. Seventh Fleet on R&R waited patiently in line at
New Lucky Store, Bras Basah Road from where Johnny Two-Thumb operated from.
By the Eighties, Johnny Two-Thumb had already become famous and his fame spanned across many
continents mostly carried on the lips of countless sailors from numerous navies of many nations that call
upon Singapore, not forgetting oil riggers and drillers.
Anyone with a keen eye in discerning various styles of art work and those well versed in appreciating the
subtle nuances of various great masters will be awed by the sheer simplicity of Johnny Two-Thumb's work.
His style in employing the minimum to bring out the maximum was the hallmark of his works.
Shadings were used sparingly and was very cleverly deployed in incorporating the blank spaces within to
create a sense of completeness as a whole. Each of his work became unique classics never ever replicated
successfully by anyone.
Johnny Two-Thumb passed away in August 1988 and his two sons, Singha (Singha Tat) and Harka (Richard
Tat) continued tattooing and brought the tattoo art to new heights and pushed new frontiers. This brought
tattooing to the level of social acceptance and became very popular among many who would have shunned it
in an earlier era.
Today, Richard Tat the second generation of Johnny Two Thumb continues the trade in Body Decor Tattoo
at The Heeren Shops and Ms Sumithra Debi ( Sutattoo) the third generation of Johnny Two Thumb operates
from Exotic Tattoo at Far East Plaza.
Singapore's first pioneer tattoo artist with a reputation and fame that spanned across the oceans.
Johnny Two-Thumb was his trade name given by British soldiers who were his clients and his real name was
Mr. Indra Bahadur s/o Ram Sing.
Of Nepalese origin, he was born in 1924 in Falam, the capital of Chin State in Burma (Myanmar). He learnt
tattooing from an old tattoo artist who became his guru somewhere in the north-eastern part of India across
the border with Burma during Second World War just before the Allied Forces pushed into Japanese-held
Burma at the Battle of Impal.
After the war, he opened a tattoo shop at Sule Pagoda in Rangoon the capital of Burma. Not very long after,
he left for Singapore which was still under British rule where the British Far East Command was stationed.
Sailors of the Royal Navy and tattoos always went hand in hand and the Naval Base in Sembawang made
sure that customers always kept Johnny Two Thumb very busy. In the Seventies, the Vietnam war made
sure a steady stream of U.S. Marines and sailors of the U.S. Seventh Fleet on R&R waited patiently in line at
New Lucky Store, Bras Basah Road from where Johnny Two-Thumb operated from.
By the Eighties, Johnny Two-Thumb had already become famous and his fame spanned across many
continents mostly carried on the lips of countless sailors from numerous navies of many nations that call
upon Singapore, not forgetting oil riggers and drillers.
Anyone with a keen eye in discerning various styles of art work and those well versed in appreciating the
subtle nuances of various great masters will be awed by the sheer simplicity of Johnny Two-Thumb's work.
His style in employing the minimum to bring out the maximum was the hallmark of his works.
Shadings were used sparingly and was very cleverly deployed in incorporating the blank spaces within to
create a sense of completeness as a whole. Each of his work became unique classics never ever replicated
successfully by anyone.
Johnny Two-Thumb passed away in August 1988 and his two sons, Singha (Singha Tat) and Harka (Richard
Tat) continued tattooing and brought the tattoo art to new heights and pushed new frontiers. This brought
tattooing to the level of social acceptance and became very popular among many who would have shunned it
in an earlier era.
Today, Richard Tat the second generation of Johnny Two Thumb continues the trade in Body Decor Tattoo
at The Heeren Shops and Ms Sumithra Debi ( Sutattoo) the third generation of Johnny Two Thumb operates
from Exotic Tattoo at Far East Plaza.
| Body-Decor Tattoo & Piercing Copyright © since 2001 All rights reserved. |