Trash polka
“Trash polka is a mixed media form of tattooing that is created with various, non-limited components. Detailed photo-realistic portraits can be displayed in conjunction with graphic elements such as large black areas, brush strokes and geometric or abstract shapes. The tattoos are mainly in black and red, but other colors can be used as well. It is often referred to the use of color contrasts known in the art, such as a complementary contrast, that creates the optical effect. Abstract designs that are combined with realistic motifs is a key point of the tattoo style. It is common for lettering to be included in the tattoos with distinctive varieties of fonts. The majority of original Trash Polka tattoos are done as large scale pieces in order to suit the motifs and elements.” – Wikipedia.
Trash Polka is also both a brand name, a song of the same name and a style within the larger Tattoo Genre of Graphic Tattooing which started life as ‘the photoshop style’ in the late 90’s. Over the past 2 decades the Graphic Style (as it is known today) has both gained acceptance amongst the tattoo industry and grown exponentially. Surrealism, non-representative and ignorant/naive are all style that now exist within the the Graphic Tattoo realm. Making it one of the newest & most expressive forms of tattooing today.