Medusa Standard

Matt Jordan's obsession with tattooing began at a very young age. He was heavily inspired by his father, Mark "Fats" Jordan, a tattoo artist from Christchurch who tragically passed away when Matt was only six years old. Learning to draw in his father’s studio environment set his life's path. Constantly drawing through his school years, Matt was gifted a tattoo setup by a family friend at age 18. He secured a rigorous apprenticeship at a local studio, honed his craft for several years, and eventually moved north to elevate his career while starting a young family. Over his career, he has won numerous awards and traveled internationally to work alongside global masters of the craft.

Matt has developed a distinctive, world-class signature in black and gray realism characterized by large-scale, multifigure, narrative-driven compositions.

• Renaissance Influence: He draws deep inspiration from classical masters—including painters like Caravaggio, Rubens, and Géricault, and sculptors like Michelangelo and Bernini.
• Extreme Reference Staging: Rejecting shortcuts or digital convenience, Matt goes to extraordinary lengths to create original reference material from scratch. To build his tattoo stencils, he curates live, real-world scenes—such as arranging staged medieval combat using LARPing armor, setting up trampolines to capture authentic falling mechanics, or organizing protection dog training exercises to perfectly map a wolf attack.
• Industry Collaboration: His stature in the industry earned him a custom collaboration with Bishop Tattoo Supply, featuring an exclusive olive green Artist Series Bishop Power Wand customized with his own "MJ" monogram.