Positive inking at Hong Kong’s first tattoo festival
Body art is losing its negative connotations, organisers of city's first convention say
The buzz of tattoo irons filled the air as artists from as far afield as Korea and Poland showed off their ink skills at Hong Kong's first tattoo convention yesterday.
The organiser of the event, which runs until tomorrow at the InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong, says the show is a sign that the link between tattoos and the seedier side of Hong Kong life is being broken.
International tattoo artists joined local and mainland professionals to show off their designs, doing freestyle tattoos and customised sketches for visitors.
Video: Hong Kong's first international tattoo convention
Local and mainland tattoo aficionados getting ink right there from master artists is a sign that times have changed and the public is more accepting of the body art, said organiser Gabe Shum, of local salon Freedom Tattoo.
"Tattoos weren't always associated with triad members. We want to change that attitude," said Shum, organiser of the convention. Shum himself has a list of clients that includes world- famous tattoo fans such as soccer star David Beckham and basketball ace LeBron James.