UK: London's first ever International Tattoo Convention looks to elevate the practice to an art form

These London crowds weren't lining up for a rock concert or end of season sales, but were awaiting entry to the city's first ever International Tattoo Convention on Friday (October 07). Inside a disused Brewery, three floors had been set aside to display everything you can imagine associated with tattoo art, with an elite of tattoo artists, attending by invite only. One hundred and eighty of the world's finest tattooists from forty-eight countries were attracted to the three-day convention, and with them, crowds from all walks of life, from the curious to those displaying a more extreme dedication to the practice. Canadian tattooist Rob Thomas, from Vancouver, is somebody takes his art seriously; he has fifty tattoos covering his body that he has spent twenty five years collecting. He has flown all over the world to be tattooed by artists he admires. His ribs are the only spare space, and they too will soon be covered in ink. "I guess if you're a musician you collect guitars, a tattoo artist collects tattoos," explained Thomas. "It's our livelihood - it is more than a job, it's a lifestyle and it just obsesses you and takes over your life. It's the art form, getting tattooed, the meaning behind the tattoo: everything about it is a learning experience and a positive experience" And the art is no longer the preserve of backstreet artists crafting garish dragons and lurid love messages on the backs of bikers and sailors. Tattoos have gone mainstream. "It's no longer a lowbrow art. It's considered a mainstream medium where all walks of life can be tattooed and not have negative implications," said Thomas. "It can be looked at as a legitimate art form." Each tattooist signed an agreement not to tattoo private parts on either men or women, anyone under the age of 18, or anybody under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

ITN Source | October 15, 2005

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