Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Body art with a difference
BIANCA COLEMAN
THE South African International Tattoo Convention, presented by Cape Electric Tattoo in association with ShowHorse Productions, takes place at the CTICC from March 24-26.
Intended as a tattoo event, 80 local and international artists will be focused on making skin more beautiful and more interesting.
Some overseas names include Holly Ellis from Idle Hand in San Francisco, Wan from Wild Rose in South Korea, James McKenna from Australia, and Big Steve from Fun City in New York City.
The results can be shown off at the official after-party on Saturday, at Villains Ale House in Hout Street.
“The South African International Tattoo convention is a primarily ‘walk in’ event. Many of the artists prefer not to pre-book as they love to be in the moment and create the tattoos they do right there and then,” says organiser Romy van Tonder.
“We are hosting in one beautiful venue with masses of natural light streaming through triple storey glass windows, where some of the best tattoo artists in the word will display their own work, prints, tees and trinkets in their booths, and most importantly, their personal style of tattooing and art.
“To the far left of the venue we will have a leafy, airy food court as well as a craft beer, wine and whisky bar. The bar and food court will face on to a market style vendor booth set up where we have carefully selected only eight vendors to show and sell local products. There will be an official merchandise booth where we will sell our event T-shirts and pins along with other cool goodies.”
Tamar Thorn, who recently opened her second shop in Cape Town (Good Things Tattoo Co joins her first one, Body Architects, both of which will be represented) has worked extensively abroad and taken part in conventions all over the world.
“I feel this convention will be a fantastic platform for local artists to showcase their work next to some very talented and well known international artists,” she says.
“South African tattooing has for the most part been overlooked internationally and we really do have some fantastic artists working here who deserve to be taken seriously on an international level but haven’t had the opportunity to network or travel.”
Thorn believes the level of tattooing at this event will be exceptional: “Some of the most wellknown names in our industry will be there showcasing their work and I am very excited to meet some of these people whom I have admired for years.
“I feel the international artists will be pleasantly surprised by how beautiful our city is and how friendly our people are, so it’s important for anyone interested in tattoos and tattooing to show their support and ensure that we can have busier, successful shows in the years to come.
“If this show is a success, then next year the show will be even bigger and more tattooers from all over the world will be inspired to attend.”
Venezuelan-born Demian Cervera has been to Cape Town before, tattooing at conventions as well as guesting at Metal Machine, which he will be doing again next week.
Cervera enjoys visiting the city and eating out and is “so excited” to visit again.
While festival-goers can get tattooed at the convention by either pre-booking directly with the artists or walking up to see if there is a time slot available on the day, the pre-booking option is recommended: go to southafricantattooconvention.com where you will find contact details for all participating artists. At the same time, you can find out if they will be guesting while they are here.
I’ve booked my appointment with Cervera at Metal Machine for next week, which will free up my weekend to visit the convention.
Like deciding on your tattoo, it’s all about your personal choice, and what works for you.
Tickets can be booked on the website as well, and range from R180 for Friday only, to R580 for a VIP weekend pass which includes a T-shirt and pin. Convention hours are 5pm till 10pm on Friday, 11am till 11pm on Saturday, and 11am till 9pm on Sunday.
Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/ satattooconvention; Instagram: www.instagram.com/sa_tattooconvention/; General enquiries: sonja@ southafricantattooconvention.com.