A tattoo artist went viral on TikTok after he asked what viewers thought of his design.
TikTok users are torn over a viral tattoo, as some praised the artist for the abstract, scribble-like design, while others were left baffled by the permanent piece’s shape and apparent price tag.
On May 11, 21-year-old Mykhailo, a tattoo artist based in Berlin, posted a TikTok which appeared to show a freshly created tattoo on a man’s back, alongside an on-screen caption that said he had paid 900 euros, or $961, for the artwork.
The video then cut to a work-in-progress of the design sketched in blue ink: two long shapes resembling flowers that stemmed from a scribbled section, surrounded by seemingly disconnected lines. The sore-looking finished piece then reappeared on the screen.
The caption of the upload, which received more than 1.9 million views, included the hashtags #abstracttattoo and #flowertattoo. More than 750 comments responded to an on-screen prompt in the video asking whether it was worth the money.
Many viewers hyped up the design by leaving fire emojis in the comments, which are often used to express encouragement or praise, while others described the tattoo as a piece of art and wrote they would consider getting something similar.
Then some appeared to outright disagree with the merit of the piece. “Hell nah,” one viewer wrote and received over 3,400 likes, while another commenter added they wouldn’t tattoo themselves with something similar even if they were paid 10,000 euros for it.
Others expressed confusion about the shape of the tattoo and speculated about what it represented. “Looks like my graph from finals when i forgot to bring a ruler,” one viewer joked in a top comment that received more than 9,400 likes, while another wrote that it might be a 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥’s drawing that held sentimental value for the person who had paid for it.
Mykhailo, who declined to share his last name, told Insider in an email exchange that the tattoo was inspired by the concept of “freedom” and “beauty” and was made in collaboration with his customer. “I’m trying to complement not only their body shapes but personality as well,” he said.
He said the composition of the tattoo actually cost between 700 and 800 euros. Mykhailo said he exaggerated the cost on Tiktok because he knew that the high price and the “quite controversial and provocative” design would create “a viral mix.”
He questioned why people had so much time to comment on “random people on the internet” but said the negativity was expected, as he felt he had “triggered” viewers by simply being a young person creating expensive tattoos that others may consider “bad.”
Mykhailo has more than 38,000 followers on TikTok and often posts videos of his tattoo work, which feature similar designs to his viral post.
This isn’t the first tattoo that’s grabbed the internet’s attention in recent weeks. On May 17, the Reddit user Lewis Murray blew up online when he posted a bizarre tattoo while asking for advice on how to cover it, and was instead inundated with requests from commenters who begged him to keep it intact, becoming a meme in the process, and inspiring others to get the same, strange design.
