South Korea-based tattoo artist Sion Kwak creates delicate body art inspired by traditional Korean motifs. Her distinctive style features illustrations of norigae—a jewelry accessory that is worn by women in Korean formal attire called the habok—in a variety of elegant designs. Kwak renders the intricate knots, beads, and long silken tassels with fine details so that they appear to float over the person’s skin. Many of these pieces feature a striking limited color palette of red, black, green, and yellow.

In addition to her minimalist tattoos of norigae, Kwak also combines these exquisite ornaments into more elaborate body art. She uses the thread to connect pendant illustrations of flowers like lotuses and magnolias, as well as ethereal paintings of birds and other animals. However, Kwak doesn’t exclusively use norigae. Some of her other designs depict blooming botanical art inside the shape of a slithering snake, or a simple piece of thread that wraps around the person’s wrist. It is these thoughtful and intentional choices that make her permanent art so coveted.

Scroll down to see more delicate tattoos by Kwak, and follow the artist on Instagram to keep up to date with her latest creations.

Korean tattoo artist Sion Kwak adorns people’s skin with delicate illustrations of traditional Korean motifs.

She uses norigae—a decorative ornament used in formal Korean attire—as the inspiration for her ethereal designs.

Some of her other designs depict blooming botanical art and more.

Sion Kwak: Instagram

All images via Sion Kwak.

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