Sailor Jerry Swallow, a tattoo artist from Halifax, has been tattooing in New Glasgow for 20 years.
Swallow is nothing short of a legend in the tattoo industry, pumping out traditional American, and traditional Japanese-style tattoos for over 50 years, all around the world. Tyson Carlson was introduced to Swallow While working at the same tattoo shop in Ontario for a while.
“I brought in a camera and started following him around,” said Carlson about the first time he began filming Swallow.
The pair went about their daily lives for some time with Carlson filming Swallow. After a good look at the footage he had, Carlson decided to apply for Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council grants. The first application was unsuccessful, with the second one coming through. Once funded, Carlson recruited a fellow filmmaker and friend, Eric Boissonneault, to help him create the film.
“I’m extremely fascinated by his trials and tribulations,” said Boissonneault, who didn’t know Swallow when they began the project. “He looks at things totally different than we do.”
The film will be about Swallow himself, telling the story of some of his accomplishments, such as being credited with bringing traditional Japanese style tattooing to Canada, as well as his extensive contribution to traditional tattoo flash.
“The story itself is still emerging,” said Boissonneault. They are finding that it is shaping up to be a profile of an artist that has helped build the industry, but watching it pass him by as he grows older. The film will also feature a bit about the fact that not a lot of people are very aware about Swallows contribution to the industry, even though he is internationally recognized.
The film will likely be done near the end of this year, with extensive editing needing to be done after so much filming.
“We’ve kind of noticed making documentaries are more haphazard,” said Boissonneault.
Swallow doesn’t mind not being recognized for having an impact on the industry.
“No, not a bit,” he replied when asked if that bothered him, “sometimes it does.” Swallow has been featured in international tattoo magazines, as well as short films in the past.
“I had little shorts (films) in the late ’70s, early ’80s,” said Swallow. Students looking for a subject for project films would sometimes feature him in the movies. Even after a few films, countless articles, and his first documentary, Swallow does not brag about his accomplishments.
“He’s weirdly humble when maybe he shouldn’t be,” said Boissonneault, “he’s one of the greatest Canadian tattoo folk artists.”