Nahall Khaghani Qajar INTERVIEW //Dogxana

Interview with underground punk tattooer and artist Nahall Khaghani Qajar

Nahall Khaghani Qajar INTERVIEW

Do you remember the first time you really made something you were proud of?

As a kid it would probably all the shitty civilian graffiti I was doing and taking photos of.

As an adult, I think the first time I made something I was really proud of was my event company Hussy Planet. I throw events featuring women headliners mainly, and as many women I can get on the event. I started Hussy Planet in May of 2016 and the first show was billed with Dope Saint Jude from Cape Town, Bbymutha from Tennessee, and Quay Dash from the Bronx. I loved Hussy Planet for all the diversity that popped up at my events, especially in New York.

Also My leather jacket I guess should be first cause that did happen before Hussy Planet haha

I feel like graffiti is a great way to be creative as a kid, what did you write? Also tell me more about Hussy Planet, is that a main objective, to put women artists on and bring different people together?

I actually wrote a lot of things I tattoo today. I used to write “belong to no one”, “hell is real”, and I think one of my first tags was “TRADS”.

Hussy Planet was a way to put women on the bigger platforms instead of men because I’ve noticed that male rappers get more attention in the underground. I’ve had artist like Quay Dash, Lord Narf, bbymutha, La Goony Chonga Dope Saint Jude, and a lot more amazing artist. Events where you would see literally all sorts of people come together. It was insane to me at first when I started it.

Seeing all these people of completely different communities together blew my mind, I was so happy when I first realized that.

Im focusing more on my video work these days, it’s been a passion for so long and I decided to get back into it after filming my own events.

So how did you get into tattooing?

I just started doing small stick and poked when I was 16 cause I was bored, when I was 18 I was taught how to run my first machine by my friend Sean who tattooed at Saved LA. After that I got a machine and kept practicing until my machine died then I went back to poking cause I couldn’t afford another

But yea I’ve been hand poking now for 3 years professionally. I didn’t intend to make it become a source of money before, but I started getting job offers at shops. After working in a couple and seeing people react so positively to my work I just decided to keep doing em.

You’re style is unique in the sense that you kind of marry your writing with tattooing. What about the combination of the two is it that you are drawn to? How would you compare it to doing imagery?

I used to always write mean things people said to me or mean shit I’d say. I think I did that a sort of reminder of who people around me are, and how shitty I could be. I guess I’m just drawn to the fact that words are a straight up reminder, not a cute or edgy image. I love doing imagery as well but writing is so much more satisfying to tattoo, cause it’s super personal. You can tell more about a person by what text they want tattooed rather than an image.

So the texts you usually do are pretty bleak messages. When you say it’s a reminder, do you use that as a way to improve yourself and others or way to display the darker sides of humanity

When I say it’s a reminder it’s a reminder for myself, I don’t necessarily use it as a way to improve but as a way to get shit out of my head. If I write it out and post it online, it’s as if ive pulled something from my brain and thrown it in the trash and can say “that’s someone else now” and never look at it or read it again

Especially the long passages, I never reread those. It definitely shows the darker side of humanity with all of that involved

Do you want people to feel a certain way upon seeing your work? Does it matter how its perceived? I imagine a lot of people would be creeped out.

No absolutely not. If it makes them FEEL that’s good enough for me

I feel the same way. Any reaction is a good reaction. Do you have any memorable stories of tattoos you’ve done that you cherish or have stuck with you over. The years?

That’s a hard one, there’s been so many insane stories at this point.

It’s really hard to pick cause there’s so many stories..I think the one that I really cherish though is this text piece I did on Winona aka lil bo weep aka unaloon aka all around angel. The first day I met her I did a chest piece for her that reads “so what the fucks it like to have a place called home” I think that one hit us both heavy

I really like that. I guess my take on that is that yeah, it’s really hard to find a space or to surround yourself with people that actually care about you enough to feel completely yourself and be comfortable in that environment. At the same time, looking at everyone else who seem to have that and feeling off for not having the same.

It really is. It’s why I move so much lol

Where’s the closest thing to where you’d consider home?

I don’t know a place. People can be called home too though. The closest thing I’ve had to that is my friendship and creative partnership with Jayne Doe and Dana Dentata. The only times I’ve cried from happiness is from truly adoring these two amazing women, I never expected to be around such strong forces

All you need is a few solid friends.

There’s someone else out there who feels like home to me without any bond over work related stuff. Which is incredibly rare and special for me. Everything I’ve done is for her, though she isn’t here so really it’s for me

Doing it because they aren’t here to do it themselves, whatever that may be. Loss puts a lot of things into perspective for a lot of people. Time is really valuable and you have to use it the best you while you have it

Yea definitely puts shit into perspective. I made a mini series about the first 4 stages of grief and heartsick, I haven’t released the last one though it’s been hard to finish

Yeah I get that finishing something is weird because sometimes you don’t want it to end . And once your done it means you eventually have to deal with how it’s received. Maybe it’s not how you imagined it would turn out.

Yea it was weird when it was showed at this film fest. No one understood it lol but it wasn’t meant to be shown to loads of people so I didn’t put it together to make sense to other people haha