Via Adriatica by Przemek Skrzypek

For the outsider, the old art of the barbershop couldn’t be more different from the rebellious image of the tattoo artist’s cove. Yet along Via Adriatica, a road that runs down the coast of Italy, the two businesses operate in harmonious parallel, and photographer Przemek Skrzypek captures both the similarities and differences between the two trades. The pristine, classic black-and-white photographs of a man getting a shave are contrasted by the shots of the loud, inked patterns that color the tattoo enthusiasts’ skin. Ironically, both sport a palpable danger; the quick edge of a blade shines with the same brilliance as the metal at the tip of a pen’s needle. The two shops offer the same welcome to the roving customer: a seat in a comfortable chair, and a masterpiece at the end of the horizon.