Australian International Tattoo Expo Focus: Cervena Fox (Pyrohex)

What can we expect from your appearance at the Perth leg of the Australian International Tattoo Expo?

I'm very excited about coming to Perth as it will be my first time since I was four years old in Australia. I'll be doing a meet and greet all weekend and also performing with my fire crew Pyrohex every day of the Expo.

What attracted you to Pyrohex?

Pyrohex was formed a couple years ago in London, England. I was the one that actually made Pyrohex as I had been learning how to fire perform with a great group of friends and asked them if they wanted to perform on stage at my housemates event together, just for fun! After we did the show we realised that this could be a big thing. We had a blast doing it and the response from the crowd was unreal. Shelley Dinferno was the one who came up with the name as there was originally five of us in the group hence hex. Since then we've expanded the group to bring more talent and lovely faces to the stage.

What inspires your choreography?

We all work together on the choreography. We listen to a song that we feel works with the type of equipment we want to use for the performance and then all brainstorm what we feel would be good for and combine everyone's ideas together.

Do you ever do any unplanned stunts or is it all meticulously ordered?

Obviously performing with fire can sometimes be unpredictable and you have to take the safest route you can while being on stage. You have to be aware of your surroundings. But no I haven't had any unplanned stunts happen during a show because we practice routines for months in advance before a big show

What is the craziest performance you've put together?

We have just performed at an English music festival called Bloodstock. That has to be to this day the craziest performance we have ever done as it is the most fire we've ever had on stage and the biggest equipment we've ever used all in one show! Only thing missing was aerial but we couldn't rig, maybe next time.

Why do you think there’s such a strong community surrounding tattoos?

Tattoos have been around for a very, very long time and I feel that the community has gotten quite strong due to the respective levels in the art.  Obviously back in the day it was more of a gang/sailor thing to get tattoos but now it has become a lifestyle to have them! Being a tattoo apprentice I have definitely learnt that being an artist myself you have to have a lot of respect for people in the industry who have been doing this a long time. Which to me is awesome because it almost makes it seem like a big family instead of being work colleagues. And for clients to respect you because they know your work is going to stay on them for life and for that they are thankful and allow you to put your art on their skin! 

How important are tattoos to you and why?

Tattoos have been a big part of my life since I was 15 years old. I was the only person in my family to get a tattoo back then which they were not very happy about but I knew that this was my path in life. I recently did a photo shoot where they painted my tattoos away. It was so weird and I missed my tattoos so much. After the shoot I started to wipe the paint off and started to feel like myself again.

Do you plan on getting any ink while you’re in Australia?

Unfortunately not as I have a very busy schedule while I'm in Australia. But there are some great artists that and I will make sure to come back again and possibly add to my collection.

What’s next for you?

The next thing I have coming up is the London tattoo convention in England. Pyrohex will be performing there all weekend, along with my solo demon show, as we have our own stage this year and also will be signing my new 2017 calendar along with new prints!

The annual Australian International Tattoo Expo will return to the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre from Friday 16 - Sunday 18 September. You can find more here.