Q&A: Daniel Pap
Daniel Pap at Storm The Gates tattoo (Photo: Rawhai Studio)
This March, we’re hosting Medieval - a group art exhibition by tattoo artists. Mint sat down with artist, honorary Mintie and Storm The Gates tattooist Dan Pap ahead of the big show.
Mint: You’re putting on a medieval-themed group show (Saturday, March 7) with your friends from Storm the Gates tattoo in Mudgereeba at Mint Art House. Who’s on the bill?
Pap: So, there are seven of us from Storm the Gates who each paint and tattoo fulltime. From the shop we have Dylan Phillips, Shane Castle, Filip Battley, Jarryd Tricklebank, Lea Roure, Jay Baldwin, and myself. Plus we will have two special guests from Lefty’s tattoo in Palm Beach - Sam Atkins and Shaun Carr.
What does the term "medieval” mean to you, and what most interests you about that period stylistically?
Pap: I think stylistically, I’m drawn to wizards, dragons, knights and the whole fantasy element that comes with that; old buildings and goblins. Really, the name came first. I saw the word ‘Medieval’ poorly printed on a t-shirt with a shitty but awesome skull graphic, at my friend Peter’s tattoo shop in Berlin. Such a silly shirt inspired this exhibition.
Plus, Dyl from Storm the Gates had that piece in the last PAPERCUTS show last year called “Dark Medieval Times”. Was that an inspiration for the theme too?
Pap: Yeah, that was rad. I think with Dyl, we’ve known each other for such a long time now, close to 15 years I think. I always ask him for advice when it comes to painting and tattooing. I’m inspired by him and the whole shop. I feel like working with other people, we all feed off each other, even subconsciously. I feel that is represented in this exhibition, as well.
So, which medieval elements did you incorporate into your piece for the show?
Pap: My take is on a classic dragon, castle skull scene. I just had a good time painting loose and in this style. You look up a reference and you redraw it; lightbox it. Drawing in an illustrative style you don’t really have any boundaries, as well, you just do what feels right or add something here or there. You just have fun with it. That was the main principle behind the exhibition.
Your last collection here (Belonging) was a massive hang of bright and colourful flowers and crowded scenes painted almost entirely with your solid marker. What medium will you be working in this time?Pap: I had a lot of fun painting that whole series at Mint last year. Well, this is different because they are all ink on arches paper rather than acrylic on canvas. I feel that all the pieces in the show are connected through the medium and framing [AM picture framing] the loose theme and just the way most tattoo artists paint which is pretty much water colour, spit-shading, liquid ink or calligraphy ink - flash painting, on arches, basically.
So, flash is the artwork hung up at a tattoo shop for clients to choose from, right? How important is flash in your practice as an artist and a tattooist?
Pap: I think flash is really important as an artist because you’ve always got something to post and show people regularly. Somebody might see your design and relate to it somehow. They might see a dragon or a panther and the energy of that relates to them and think ‘yeah, I want to get that’. But, as tattooers, we’re always drawing. It’s important to keep your skills sharp by painting flash because it’s pretty much like doing a tattoo only on watercolour paper.
What can we expect on the night from the team?
Pap: Well, we’ve got the medieval body of work in the gallery but we’ll also have some live painting from [local graffiti writer] Splat. Through a friend of ours we found that he likes to paint medieval style as well as his graffiti and letter-based style. He’ll be painting outside during the show; maybe on [Mint resident] Shmick’s wall with aerosol or with acrylic on canvas. Plus, we’ll have a big merch table setup, too - shirts, totes, hats, prints, maybe some originals, too. Basically, a big merch table of stuff you can’t buy anywhere else apart from tattoo shops.
And you’ve got Junior’s Deli from Mudgeeraba coming down, also?
Pap: Yup, they’ll be doing a pop-up for the show. He’s going to be providing two different burgers on the night, I believe. Anybody who knows Junior’s quality already knows it’s amazing so we’re pretty excited about that. They make the best burgers on the coast.
Any last words?
Pap: It’s going to be a fun night. So come down, check it out; support the locals. I’m excited to show this work to people, get the homies out, get the chance to talk to everybody involved and just get medieval.
Medieval featuring Storm The Gates + Lefty’s tattoo
Saturday, 7 March, 2026
6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Mint Art House (87 West Burleigh Road, Burleigh Heads, QLD, 4220, Australia)
