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| Crystal underneath her portrait by Ned Pratt at the St. John's Tattoo Convention. Special thanks are owed to Dave Munro for allowing us to exhibit these portraits at his event. |
I dump my purse out on the kitchen table and out falls: a
Norwegian hunting knife, a pair of snippers that my friend assures me could be
used to castrate an elephant and a razor blade. My son laughs, "that's my Mom". Yeah, you will not find eyeliner in my
purse. That day I had been
installing an exhibition of sorts, a selection of large photographs by Ned
Pratt. It was an excerpt from the
More Than Skin Keep project and the venue was the Bella Vista. Like a dutiful mom I had picked up the
forgotten toys of my crew and put them safely away.
The next day the disco ball over the dance floor of the
Bella Vista would be shining down over a swarm of tattoo artists gathered for
St. John's first tattoo convention.
Forty of them would be clustered around tables and chairs tattooing
clients who had made appointments and some who had walked in and lucked
out. The air would be filled with
the buzz of ink guns like cicadas on a warm summer afternoon. And I was one happy camper.
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| NTV's photo captures the intense activity at St. John's first tattoo convention. |
Tattooing by and large is a private event. It takes place at a tattoo studio and
it is the client, the client's ideas and the tattoo artist's skills and
equipment. I think that is one of
the reasons why such close bonds often develop between the tattooist and the
client. Factor in pain and trust that is implied by the physical contact and
the permanency of the tattoo and you get a better idea of some of the other
reasons.
By contrast, tattoo conventions are social events. The excitement is palpable as friends
stroll the aisles comparing flash art in various artists' portfolios; other
friends are showing each other fresh tattoos still glistening wet; and of
course you can see wall to wall bodies being tattooed. There are posters for sale, badges,
t-shirts and prints.
But make no mistake this is a far cry from the "reality
TV" versions of tattooing.
Nowhere is this more apparent than the "Tattoo of the Day"
competitions at the conventions.
The proud owners of the tattoos register their new art work for the
competition. They await their name
to be called at the appointed hour to take to the stage and be inspected by a
panel of judges. Some of the
tattoo owners are still peeling off bandages. Others are visibly in pain as they gingerly work calves up
the stairs bearing large, heavily worked tattoos. Some apologize for the blood that is still visible. This is real life.
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During some of the more quiet times, I notice tattoo artists
slipping into each other's booths to get tattooed. Artists, whom I recognize from local studios, are also
making special trips in to the convention to add to their own body art. Gathering outside the convention centre
over take out noodles and vegetables one bright-eyed young apprentice crows
that his hero has just tattooed him.
Ironically, they both work in studios based in Ottawa. But here in St. John's Newfoundland and
Labrador, the young artist has secured a hand and needle tattoo – rather than
one done with an ink gun– from a senior artist with more than 35-years
experience. It is a delicate sakura or Japanese cherry blossom.
The event is clearly a success, so much so that before it is over Trouble Bound Studio's Dave Munro says "We're proud to announce the Second Annual St. John's Tattoo Convention July 1-3, 2016!" #stjohnstatooconvention #sjtc #stjohns
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