Damián Vásquez or Disaikner (“designer” written badly and hard to spell on purpose) is the result of many years of D.I.Y (do it yourself) art culture. I am an Ecuadorean artist in continuous movement, and the founder of “Focus Tattoo”. 

My work is centered on illustration, tattoo and art direction, creating worlds that invite reflection and critique. A dominant black line, expressed through shadow, texture, or repetition, threads across formats, including paper, walls, textiles, and skin. I like to reflect on my daily life and choose the medium to create paradoxes of life, with ancestralism, skulls and a strident orange palette. After living almost 15 years in Barcelona I am now based in Brisbane, tattooing and creating at @focustattoobrisbane

Between painting to tattooing I've been developing custom artworks for nearly 20 years whilst always trying to support meaningful projects. For example, with Riffs for a Reason we developed 666fest, an annual festival for underground Music located in Burleigh Heads, and all festival profits go to charity

Currently I feel the world is falling apart.

I had a need for a stronger connection with my indigenous background, so I went to the mountains of Ecuador. I spent a few months in an art residence in Pujilí, Tungurahua region at “Pujinostro” art country side ranch to connect with my roots. There, I met the first indigenous painters of the Tigua region, and the very first painter Julio Toaquiza, who started painting self-taught masks and other objects, making an income as he broke the chains of slavery and abuse of countryside farms. I spent time with him and learnt his techniques and concepts but most importantly, his vision of life and motto about:

“Never stop dreaming”.

I have since created a series of masks that revisit the tradition and culture, while blending it with new colors and shapes. These masks traveled back to Australia where I've been holding various exhibitions across Brisbane and Gold Coast, presenting also a documentary about this experience; as a result one of these masks was selected as a part of Brisbane Rotary Art Show 2026.