With more than 400 tattoo artists gathered at the Tobacco Docks and numerous quality exhibitions, conferences, a painting workshop by Shawn Barber, bluesy live shows and a charity sale of stylized fans, organized by Stef Bastian: the London Tattoo Convention 2019 by Miki Vialetto blew out its 15 candles, as it should!
London has no equal in welcoming you and the London Tattoo Convention has not departed from the rule. The Tobacco Dock is a gigantic building that stands out in the grey east of London. The tail is already well formed when we arrive on Friday. Three days of convention: that's the London challenge! One of the most important conventions in Europe with Milan and Paris. We take our pretty booklet, super complete with a nice detailed program whose quality and especially our plan of the place we appreciate! This will become our bible to find our way back through the maze of these modernized docks where the corridors are similar. Between Quayside 1 to 7 but also The Great Gallery, are grouped the cream of the crop, such as the Leu Family stand, Doc Price who celebrated her retirement, well deserved at 86 years old, the iconic Seven Doors, Mike Dorsey, Idle Hand of San Francisco, Paul Dobleman, CIV, Aimée Cornwell, Henrik and Chris Crooks (@chriscrookstattoo, White Dragon Tattoo Family, Belfast) etc.. On the opposite side: the professional sales spaces and below: the merchandising and food truck spaces. Each small booth on the spot remains well serene but can accommodate two tattooers. Apro Lee can be found alongside Gordo Letters or, on the other hand, the ornamental and graphic rooms with Benjamin Laukis and Natalie Nox, Lewisink, Naza and many others.
From 13:00, the atmosphere is there and the Fuel Girls' shows electrify the audience. Still as divine and acrobatic as ever, in the evening they are joined by Shibari nicely led by Figure of A at the end of the day. Everything is in the basement: and that's where the bar, restaurant and entertainment area is dedicated, there is also the competition stage and the skate ramp, which also provides a good outlet during this rainy weekend.
Outside, when a few rays of sunshine allow it, the decoration perfectly accompanies the event. A three mate, a yellow taxi...... the made in england is provided in a Peaky Blinders atmosphere,. In addition, the food trucks offer a variety of menus, including the "healthy Budha bowl" with coconut milk, delicious! Rarely found in convention. For the moment we do not recommend the famous English cheesy chips, as their culinary art, so they were soft and cold. So, even or double level catering, then. And we're not even talking about the price of a pint of beer. Let's not forget the capital's prices, how to say... astronomical.
This year, for the first time, London will have hosted a traditional tattoo space, dedicated to the hand-taped at the outside access, a little more remote and quiet. As traffic becomes difficult at times, we discover with pleasure the few stands (perhaps too few) dedicated to the greatest traditional artists from all over the world. You also sit there to listen to the lectures (by the Central American tattoo artist, Huitzomitl) and observe the Kava ceremonies for the opening and closing of the convention. All orchestrated by Segaula Tatau (@segaula_tatau). A spiritual and intense moment, in which Filip and Titine Leu as well as Colin Dale from Skin and Bone Tattoo studio, Copenhagen, Denmark will also participate. Ajarn Matthieu Duquenois (@matthieuduquenois) Sacred Ink, Thaïland, Brett McCown...
Music also has its place at the convention but it will be necessary to make choices as there is so many animations and the night is filled with three groups per day: including Urban Voodoo Machine, Hells Bells and the exhibition of Gretsch painted guitars... it leaves little time to get tattooed or rather the opposite. The shopping area is also huge, on the other side; in the afternoon, we attend Paul Antonio's calligraphy workshop while tattoo artists can practice painting alongside Shawn Barber tattoo artist. We also take the time to link the many exhibitions, including one on Felix Leu's work orchestrated by Loretta and her family, the meeting of Benjamin Laukis and Mayonaize on canvas and the photographic work on tribal tattoos, around a futuristic vision imagined by Hanumantra and presented in the Hand-Poke space.
We are really amazed by the quality of these exhibitions; Andreas Coenen will have gathered about sixty works in légacy of Ed Hardy and this famous concept of the mash-up tattoo for the occasion, avidly worked by a series of tattoo artists including Alix Gé. Not to mention the exhibition of original fans for the benefit of a charity, by the tattoo artist: Stef Bastian, bringing together again this year, international artists around a charity auction project. Alex Binnie will also have gathered a beautiful retrospective of his works in part, while Kintaro Publishing returns once again to present superb editions on Japanese tattooing, his specialty...
Friday and Saturday; the aisles have filled up and what started out smoothly becomes a buzzing convention! The pieces will hardly be finished before 6pm or 7pm but Saturday promises to be even busier on the tattoo side. It is on this day that the competitions Best Black and Grey, Ornamental, Best of Day begin. All were judged by some of the greatest tattoo legends: the American, Mark Mahoney, Tin Tin, Titine Leu, Luke Atkinson, Filip Leu. The competitions are conducted with flying colours and Carlos Fabra wins the first prize black & grey followed by Gakkin for the first ornamental prize. Then are rewarded different Best of day Sandra Daukshta - Inside Tattoo Gallery, Latvia and Anrijs Straume - Bold as Brass Tattoo, UK in second position while the best backpiece is for Mads Thill - Ink Link, Denmark. Ching de Orient Ching Tattoo, Taiwan will have received the prize for the best colour piece while Dean Laibachink- Laibachink, Slovenia, the prize for the realistic piece. Finally Ryan Smith / Rich Harris Collaboration- Nr Studio-Exeter/ Dark Horse Collective, UK is validated as a best of show! While Mark Mahoney validates 7 Doors as the "Best Booth" of the convention.
The competition is fierce when you see the sizes of the parts offered in competition. Clearly this year marks the year of the full bodysuit in Black and Grey or Black! The level is also present when you admire the work of Augustine Nezumi, Carlos Torres and Carlos Fabra who wins the first prize black and Grey. On the Ornamental side, no surprise, Gakkin still wins the bet with this full bodysuit made of very black Japanese waves. On Sunday, Mads Thill wins the Best of Day with his unique still chicanos. The best colour is Ghing from Taiwan who will represent Asia in this competition.
In the aisles we notice that there are not many people who put down their machine. We pass in front of Robert Hernandez's stands, the masterpieces of Lewisink and we notice a real commitment of the customers into tattoo. This is definetly not a newbbie convention. Diamante finishes its blacks in suffering by xNazax, the backpieces like those of Andrea Furci and Rafel Delalande (Seven Doors), are wide even in more extreme fields or more traditional genres like Andrea's... London will therefore be the cradle of monumental pieces, backpiece and other full body suits. Not a lot of room for the small flash or ornamental (except on hands and feet like Jondix's runes) even if some traditional American stands are still in great demand. The hands do not land before 22:00 on Saturday evening and Sunday will be dedicated to relaxation and rest after a watered evening. We will finish the convention with our eyes on backpieces in finishing, stands that are gradually emptied when tattoo artists put away their equipment in the late afternoon, to conclude, with a glass of lemonade in hand, that the Londoners' commitment to tattooing and its culture is very present. London, see you next year!
