A pig, an alien and a staircase: The meaning of Aaron Chen’s tattoos
By Benjamin Law
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Aaron Chen. The comedian and actor, 28, is best known for his stand-up performances as well as his work on the ABC TV comedy, Fisk. He’s also appeared on Taskmaster Australia and Have You Been Paying Attention?
Aaron Chen: “In my family, there was always this idea that I liked talking and doing public speaking. I think they just assumed that meant law.”Credit: James Brickwood
MONEY
Did you always know how you wanted to earn a living? I started comedy very young – at 15 – so I knew what I wanted to do. But in my family, there was always this idea that I liked talking and doing public speaking. I think they just assumed that meant law.
Work-wise, do you have a flow chart for what you say yes and no to? It’s very desire-based. Stand-up is my main thing; I love it. In terms of other things, it’s been a process of realisation. I’ve learnt that I don’t like to write scripts. I like to act sometimes. But there’s a lot of waiting around with acting, so I don’t like it as much as stand-up. If there are cool people to work with – like with Fisk – then I’ll do it.
What’s the poorest you’ve ever been? Probably early on in stand-up.
Would you consider yourself rich now? Yes.
When was the moment that you bought something and realised you were doing OK? I bought an apartment. That felt nice.
Say I give you $100 and you need to spend it on yourself in the next hour. What are you going to buy? I’m going to dinner later. So I’d get dinner.
BODIES
True or false: you’re currently regrowing a mullet. Oh, it’s grown! [Shows mullet] My hair just grows this way. One time, my friend, John, saw that my hair was growing this way and it was on the precipice of being trendy. He said, “You should grow it out as a mullet.” I never looked back.
True or false: you and a friend once shared 40 McDonald’s cheeseburgers between you? True. The number is a bit blurry in my mind, but it was a high number.
What effects does eating that many cheeseburgers have on your body? Is one of them not remembering how many you’ve had? I don’t think it’s good for your body, but I was in high school at the time. I took a lot more risks then.
Philosophical question, then: why did you do it? There was a McDonald’s double-cheeseburger deal going on. And at the same time, we – me and this guy – were watching a lot of man versus food-style videos on YouTube. So we were big into that. And big into deals.
True or false: your father has painted nude portraits of you? Just topless. So semi-true.
Tell me about that. Your dad is a painter? Yeah, he grew up painting and, in retirement, painted a lot again. I needed some set design for a show, so I asked him if he’d paint a half-naked portrait of me.
What was the process – and result? The process was I sent him a photo. The result was he painted me, but with a different body. He Google-imaged “strong Asian torso” and painted my head onto that.
Is there anything about your body you’d change? I get really nasty calluses on my feet. But I’m finding solutions, and I’ve also become quite comfortable with them. I’m OK with what’s happening.
Do you have any tattoos? I’ve got three: a pig, an alien and a staircase. They’re all on my left arm.
Is there any symbolism to them? The alien is my friend, Sam Campbell; we did a show together about an alien. The pig: I was born in the Year of the Pig. The staircase: a stick-and-poke tattoo one of my friends at uni did with a needle.
Cool. How do you feel about the tattoos now? Indifferent. But it’s crazy. I moved to New York and another comedian from Melbourne moved over at the same time and he also has tattoos of a pig and an alien. That blew my mind.
When was the last time you were naked that didn’t involve showering or sex? At a Korean spa. It was good, but very intimidating.
Why intimidating? I’d never been to a Korean spa and everyone’s naked in a Korean spa. And they don’t give you big towels.
How else did you feel? It was kind of nice. All the different temperatures and stuff were crazy. But I still think they should have bigger towels.
POLITICS
Politics are about values at the end of the day. What are yours? Be kind and loving towards people, I guess. I think the last time that I was truly politically engaged was when Bernie Sanders was trying to be president. Since then, I’ve kinda drifted away from believing in politics as the ultimate solution to all our ills.
If politics isn’t where all the change happens, what are the parts of life where you’re interested in doing good? Things at a community and interpersonal level are probably just as – if not more – important than politics. Politics sometimes feels so immovable. As a citizen, you have a big opportunity every three or four years to have a say in what happens politically. What are you going to do the rest of the time?
So, if change can happen at a community level and if comedy is your community, can comedy change the world? Maybe. But the chief aim, when I do comedy, is to do it well. If people enjoy what I do and I’ve done something well, that in itself is a very special thing.
diceytopics@goodweekend.com.au
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