Located in a beautiful renovated building at Rua Carvalho Araújo, in the heart of the city of Ponta Delgada, you will find Magma. "A place that brings various forms of art together and values the tattooing process" was always the intention of its founders Madi & Valentim. Don't expect the tradicional tattoo studio, because you won't find one here. Instead, you will find an inspiring place with people that love what they do and to share their art with you, especially in your skin ;) It was a pleasure to know a bit more and it was hard for us to leave the studio that afternoon without thinking about the tattoo we want to get next time we're back. We are sure that it will happen the same to you too.
Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself
Madi - Hi, I'm Madi. Coming from a tiny village in the south of Germany ,i speak in a funny accent that many other Germans can't understand. Micaelense style kind of :)
Valentim - I was born on August 23, 1992, on the island of São Miguel, and my love for Art was noticed since I was a child. Currently, in addition to be a cat lover, I’m a managing partner and resident tattoo artist at MAGMA - Non Temporary Art, an art gallery / tattoo studio in downtown Ponta Delgada.
Why the Azores? What made you stay?
Madi - I went from a first holiday visit at my friends surfcamp to living here. In the end it was just an energy that i felt, that this is the right place for me. At least for now :) It reminds me very much of my home, only surrounded by the ocean-maybe that's why things feel so familiar here.
You’ve been outside the island for some years. What made you come back?
Valentim - In 2010, I enrolled in the Communication Design degree at the Fine Arts College in Lisbon, and I thought that I would only return to the island at the age of 30/40. But I ended up coming earlier, in 2018, with the aim of revitalizing the farm where I grew up and always lived until I went to college, in Areias de Rabo de Peixe. Returning to my home island was a very happy decision, because three months after my return, Covid broke out and, lucky me, I couldn't be in a better place at a time of lockdown.
How’s life on the Island?
Madi - Life here is very kind to me. Since I arrived, things just happened naturally and went extremely smooth for me. From meeting amazing people to having a great life here. I am very thankful for all this.
Valentim - After realizing that I can't let my state of mind be affected by the weather, I was able to appreciate “the 50 shades of green” on the way home to work every day. And it doesn't get any better than that!
Favorite place on the island? Why?
Madi - I love our studio. It’s such a happy place for me. Besides that, I'm still in discovery mode and curiously checking new places on the island.
Valentim - On a flat day, with low tide, day or night, the right place to be on the water is at Ponta de Ferraria. If you don't know why, you have to go there ;)
Favorite object? Why?
Madi - my dehumidifier :)
Valentim - My van, because, besides giving me a lot of freedom, it fits a lot of surfboards :)
Hobbies?
Madi - Driving and traveling by motorcycle, being creative in any kind of way, power napping, having fun whenever i can, Gin and Wine, trying to surf without success but with lots of fun
Valentim - Listening to music and dancing with your eyes closed.
What about tattooing? What role does it have in your life?
Madi - Before I learned how to use a tattoo machine, I became an agricultural engineer for environmental resources but never worked as one. I wanted to be a tattoo artist straight after high school. Needless to say that my mum was not impressed with the idea, thinking that all tattoo artists are criminals. To calm things at home, I finished my Engineering degree (and what a pain it was). Coming back to my dream, I started tattooing after uni. I love it. It’s a very rewarding occupation to me. I don't consider it a job even, because it's so much fun. I am extremely grateful to have found something that brings me so much joy.
What about surfing? What role does it have in your life?
Valentim - Since I started surfing, in 2007, until going to college, I was completely hooked. There was no better feeling than going surfing, whether the sea was good or bad! Nowadays, I'm completely rusty, but I use surfing to practice the “here and now” habit, where I leave all my problems and worries in the sand. A lot of people don't know, but I had dreadlocks for 10 years (2011-2021), which, at one point, made surfing impossible.
One song / one band?
Madi - Rival Sons
Valentim - My favorite music folder has over 400 songs, but one that sends a shiver down my spine is “Glue” by Bicep.
A unique moment in your life.
Madi - Being with my mum when she took her last breath was the most impressive moment in my life so far. Something that created a completely different understanding of life in me. There is a weird magic and even beauty about the process of traveling to the other side…
Valentim - When I got my first tattoo, in 2014. It could have happened in 2008, but luckily my mom said to wait (thanks mom ahahah).
If you could pick two people (alive or dead) one to tattoo with and one to have dinner or conversation, who would they be? Why?
Madi - I would love to do a tattoo with Bert Grimm, an absolute legend in American tattoo history. For dinner I would like to go with Salvador Dali. Since I discovered “Art”, I was fascinated about how his mind works and I would love to drink some bottles of wine with him, discovering the realness of surrealness.
Valentim - For surfing, I choose my father, it would be such a fun session for sure. To talk to, I would choose my maternal grandfather who passed away when I was 12 years old. He was a very conservative and authoritarian person, so this conversation would give soooo much to talk about.
What’s been keeping you busy?
Valentim - My time has been 150% occupied by the work developed at MAGMA-NTA. It’s a new business and there’s always a lot to do, to deal with and to solve.
MAGMA-NTA, how did you come up with the idea and what is it about?
Valentim - When we met (me & Madi) in October 2021, we realized that we had a common taste – tattooing, and that we wanted to invest in what we really like. Thus, we came up with the idea of opening a different and welcoming space in Ponta Delgada, which would unite Art and Tattooing.
Future projects?
Valentim - In what concerns the gallery, after finishing Valentim's Grandmother fan exhibition, we invited the visual artist João Amado to create a series of collages made exclusively for Magma, which will be translated into tattoos during the month of July. In August, Binau is coming from Lisbon to do an artist residency, using canvases acquired on the Island, to intervene on them with his incredible monstrous imagery, which will culminate in a temporary exhibition until October. And, in November, we will have the first art fair, with local artists and beyond, open until the end of December - the perfect time to find unusual Christmas presents :)
What haven’t we asked you?
Madi - my favorite word in portuguese… "bomba de calor" puts a smile on my face, don't know why :)
Valentim - When asked if I like fresh coriander, the answer would be “if I could, I would make them disappear from planet Earth”
Follow our friends Madi & Valentim here .