Ready to get inked?
Get inked from the country’s most popular tattoo artists over three days in Mumbai. The Mumbai Tattoo Expo, taking place at the The World Trade Centre will see over 30 tattoo artists from all over the country offering tattoo jobs over three days at the expo starting from June 15.
Shibanii Shah, who is organising for the second time says Mumbaikars can expect to see a wide variety of tattoo designs and styles of tattooing. “The best thing is you don’t have to go to them, the artists have come to you,” she says. The expo will see tattoo equipment suppliers as well as tattoo artists from India and abroad. Some of the major names participating include Paulo Cruz Tattoo Machines from London, Veer Hegde of Eternal Expression, Swapnil Vishwas Tattoo, Inkholics Tattoos, Jitesh Gaikwad of JG Tatto, Roshan Paul of Inkology and Beelash Tamang, Delhi among others.
Sharing her own experience with tattoing, Shibanii says, “From the first time I got a tattoo done, I wanted my tattoo to have a meaning. I didn’t want just a butterfly. So,when I was contemplating the second tattoo, I came to know that while almost every country had their own tattoo expos, there was nothing like that in India. “This is when we decided to organise the first in Mumbai last year,” she adds. After that they organised a similar expo in Goa and the second in Mumbai. “Mumbai is where the crowd is,” she says.
Shibanii adds that although there were lots of tattoo artists working underground, they weren’t willing to come out in the open. “They don’t trust people very easily mostly because they are creative people and are afraid that their designs might get copied. But after a lot of insistence they came out in the open,” she says.
“We also have an amateur tattoo artist competition. This is for artists who are learning,”she adds. And to judge the competition they have got senior tattoo artist Dr J.A.Khodiyar, D Compali from Germany and Vishwash Gorvekar, a third generation tattoo artist.
The expo will also see tattoo artists coming together to discuss issues that are holding back the tattoo art industry. She says, “Most people associate tattoos with drugs. Can you believe that tattooed people are not allowed to give blood in several city hospitals?
Besides, there are also discrepancies in the industry like lack of hygiene, and proper protection during tattooing. There is a need for a licensing authority to keep an eye on tattooing.” (The artists at the expo were carefully screened.)
But fun is still the main focus of the expo, says Shibanii. “We have lots of other events planned like painting and drawing workshops, live music, fire dance shows etc,” she adds.
Also once inked, you can move in to the next booth to find out what the future holds for you. “We have another festival running side by side, the Mystic Musings International Spiritual Expo which will have around 30 fortune tellers, astrologers, palm readers,face readers etc. offering their services to the people,” she says. The annual convention features several popular fortunetellers.
Comments
Do not cut your bodies for
Akashic
15 Jun 2012 - 01:21
Do not cut your bodies for the dead, and do not mark your skin with tattoos. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:28, The Holy Bible
Tattoos are on the people who didn't get the word of the Lord.
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