Those who attended the last LUMA Projection Arts Festival may have been busy watching bright colors wash over Downtown Binghamton’s historic buildings. However, a quick detour from the main road to Court Street guided some attendees to Oblivion Tattoo’s soft opening, which offered walk-in tattoos, tooth gems and an art show. While this isn’t all the shop has to offer, that first event provided an early glimpse into what it’s now becoming to locals — a creative hub that blends multiple art forms into one unique space.

According to Daniel Sayegh, also known as “Tall Dan,” the owner of Oblivion and former co-owner of Golden Fleece Tattoo & Piercing, the idea for Oblivion had been forming long before doors opened back in the fall.

“Oblivion was an idea that had been crystallizing in the back of my mind and on notebook pages for a few years,” Sayegh wrote in an email. “When the studio I formerly co-owned (Golden Fleece) was preparing to disband, I saw it as a sign to try something crazy.”

Sayegh has extensive experience as a piercer. His career has allowed him to travel the country and connect with a global community — but while he’s been all over, Binghamton remains a special place. For this reason, he worked to bring the creative energy he experienced with him to the Southern Tier to create “a place of self expression of all forms.”

“I’ve lived all up and down the East Coast as well as spending some time in South America but Binghamton has always been home base for me,” Sayegh wrote. “I have family and deep roots here. Also there’s a certain beautiful weirdness that is truly unlike anywhere else I have ever been. I saw an opportunity to bring something to Binghamton that hasn’t ever really existed here before and decided to take a chance.”

After making the call to collaborators Giorgio DeLuca of Binghamton and Brandon Maslar, also known as Bam, of Endicott, they got to work renovating the tattoo and piercing shop into what it is today, which includes a go-to spot for curated oddities and Obsidian Contemporary, an art gallery.

Obsidian began in 2023 as a pop-up gallery on State Street that featured local and international artists. According to Maslar, a lifelong artist who owns and runs the gallery, combining forces with a tattoo shop makes the space an artist hub with each show bigger than the last.

“We have a lot of crossover between the piercing/tattoo community and the fine art scene,” Maslar wrote. “With all of it under one roof, we have had the privilege of showing the fine art side of tattoo artists who have also been able to guest spot and tattoo.”

Beyond the exhibitions themselves, the gallery has become a gathering place for creatives. Maslar says the best part of running Obsidian is the community response.

“We have local artists, students, and faculty members who check in to see what’s next,” Maslar wrote. “When we get to showcase an artist and the excitement they have when crowds of people are coming in to see what they have created, it makes it all worthwhile.”

While the shop is, with good reason, known for many things, Sayegh emphasized that the space is ultimately about providing a safe environment for self-expression — whether that takes the form of body modification or fine art.

With the shop’s mix of art forms and community-centered approach, Oblivion is a space where creativity and local connection can coexist. The multi-faceted shop brings an artistic spirit that not only reflects its founders but the unique “beautiful weirdness” that Binghamton is known for.

“The people I meet are always the best part,” Sayegh said. “Without them we couldn’t keep the doors open and we wouldn’t have a reason to be here either. It’s always a symbiotic relationship with something like this.”