Meet Kelly Violet
"I’m a punk... I would spend hundreds of hours on my own methodically in a flow state, blocking the outside world out."
Carved in Skin and Ink
Kelly Violet is a London-based tattoo artist who has spent over 15 years developing her own language within blackwork tattooing. What began as DIY punk tattoos for friends evolved into a distinctive visual world defined by florals, baroque detail, and motifs of decay and transformation.
Self-taught and shaped by her experience with undiagnosed autism, her work is guided by focus, repetition, and immersion. Drawing inspiration from nature and energy rather than other artists, she creates work defined by contrast—life and death, beauty and erosion, creation and collapse.
A Mark That Lasts
In collaboration with VIEREN, Kelly Violet translates her tattoo practice onto the surface of a mechanical watch dial. Working on an entirely new scale, she applies ultra-fine ink to stainless steel, preserving the same discipline and ritual that define her studio practice.
The result is a one-of-one composition inspired by a chrysanthemum in both bloom and decay. The piece becomes a meditation on permanence—where a fleeting natural form is held in place through precision craftsmanship.
"It’s really unique to have a hand drawn timepiece... it will probably receive more ‘viewing time’ than most art does through the span of its life."
Time as Obsession and Escape
Kelly’s relationship with time is defined by tension—always aware of it, yet constantly absorbed within it. Her creative process often dissolves into extended periods of focus, where repetition becomes a form of escape.
For this collaboration, she was confronted directly with time as structure, not abstraction. By scaling her work down to the dimensions of a watch dial, she transformed a familiar motif—the chrysanthemum—into a study of fragility, restraint, and permanence.
I took something I’m known for (and love) tattooing—a chrysanthemum—and scaled it down as small as possible to fit within the boundaries of the watch face."
Every Stroke Has a Story
Adapting her practice to a 2cm x 3cm surface required a complete shift in technique. Used to large-scale tattooing, Kelly experimented with different tools before finding a combination that allowed precision without loss of texture.
She ultimately worked with a Deleter calligraphy pen and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Black Star matte ink to achieve the required control on stainless steel. What emerged is a miniature composition that retains the density, contrast, and emotional weight of her larger work.
"I work rhythmically and get caught up in the beauty of being enveloped by a never ending moment."
Kelly Violet
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Sébastien Preschoux
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