Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Magic Ink Makes Its Mark As “The World’s First Rewritable Tattoo Ink”
By Sidra Lackey
In June, celebrity tattoo artist Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy known for tattooing Rihanna’s iconic henna inspired hand tattoo, teased on his Instagram, an enigmatic post about a new tattoo ink he had coming out called: “Magic Ink: The world’s first rewritable tattoo ink.” It was accompanied by a cryptic short video which depicted this “magic ink” being made in a lab, colorful and glowing, then bottled into a multi-colored bottle plainly labeled, “Magic Ink.”
What exactly is Magic Ink? Magic.ink, the website for Magic Ink, vaguely states the tattoo ink is made of “Magic + Ink.” In the first person piece by Sable Yong for GQ, “How This Celebrity Tattoo Artist Created a Tattoo You Can Turn On and Off At Will,” Yong got to see Magic Ink work its magic in the flesh. Yong was shown a small red heart tattoo on Bang Bang’s wrist and how after “a few seconds of a white light flashlight and it was gone, and a few seconds in front of a UV flashlight and there it was again.” Yong said Bang Bang showed his biggest client Rihanna, Magic Ink and her reaction was similar to Yong’s: “What the fuck?!”
How did Magic Ink come about? Bang Bang explained the idea behind Magic Ink came from a team of scientists in the Atlas Institute at University of Colorado. Doctors Carson Bruns and Jesse Butterfield had been laying the groundwork for “tech tattoos” as a way to incorporate their love of ink with biomedical benefits. Bang Bang explained that the original idea behind Magic Ink was, “to create a, “solar freckle,” something that could alert the wearer to the presence of UV light on their skin (and when it’s time to reapply SPF). They were trying to solve this issue [that] we can't see ultraviolet—insects can—but we can't, and it's dangerous to us.” Bang Bang right away realized how much more could be done with that technology creatively.
“Tattooing hasn't changed for the most part. Some of the tools have, but the particles are just essentially soot in skin,” Bang Bang’s said on the explanation on how Magic Ink works. “Magic Ink changes the particles. When the particles are exposed to certain wavelengths of UV light, they activate. And when the particles are exposed to other wavelengths of visual field light (like white light), they deactivate.”
Magic Ink is being used primarily for creative expression currently but Bang Bang is looking into how it can be, “incorporated into cosmetic tattooing: microblading eyebrows you can erase or change shape, freckles you can turn on or off, eyeliner you can “put on” or “take off,” all with light-responsive encapsulated nanotech particles.”
Magic Ink first appeared via a NFT auction (sold for 100.0 ETH) earlier this year. The highest bidder became the owner of the world’s first rewritable tattoo. Presently, Bang Bang is implementing the technique with a research set of Magic Ink tattoos on various skin tones and types, mostly made of the studio’s artists and VIP clients, and looking to go further in 2023.
On Magic Ink’s website magic.ink, the ink can be pre-ordered for $100 with shipping expected in 2023. Tattoo artists, will you be ordering a bottle? Tattoo collectors, do you think Magic Ink is cool and credible? Would you want a light-sensitive tattoo made from Magic Ink?
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