Tattoos: Not just a fashion statement

It is said that one’s body is a temple, but how long can one live in the same house before redecorating it? Renowned actor Angelina Jolie said once that all her tattoos came at good times, adding that “a tattoo is something permanent when you’ve made a self-discovery, or something you’ve come to a conclusion about”. 

Tattoo art is an old art, with spiritual connotations in some tribal cultures of the belief to follow the bearer into the afterlife. Slowly but surely, tattoos are beginning to carve for themselves their own niche in the cultural fabric of society as an art form.

And as author Sylvia Plath said, “a tattoo is like wearing one’s heart on one’s skin,” tattoo is now no longer just a tribal ritual but is turning into a fashion statement. 

The second Heartwork Tattoo Festival is being held in the national Capital at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from the December 2 – 4 with the participation of around 110 artists in over 100 booths. The event will feature some of the best tattoo artistes from over ten countries. 

The event is being organized by the Czars of The Indian Tattoo Industry who formed a group called Creative Skin Graphic Pvt Ltd to revolutionise tattoo art all over India as they realised that getting inked was more than just a ritual. It was in the true sense Heart-work. 

Heartwork is the brainchild of four pillars of the Indian tattoo industry: Lokesh Verma of Devil’z Tattooz, Delhi; Sameer Patange of Kraayonz Tattoo Studios, Mumbai; the biggest distributor of tattoo equipment in India, Anu Singh of Tattoo Empire, and Arvind Garg of Tattoo Gizmo. 

The opening performance will be by the renowned dancer/ choreographer/ actor Remo D’souza with a live tattoo on him. There will also be live workshops by legends of the International tattoo industry. They take upcoming artists through demonstrations on various art practices and design methods. 

Participating tattoo artists include Jay Freestyle from Netherlands, Bez 666 from the United Kingdom, Stepan Nagur from Russia, and Fred from Spain – all of whom have already achieved name and fame internationally. 

There will also be live Tattoo on-the-spot competitions on all the three days of the festival, with multiple categories to compete in. The best tattoos everyday will be eligible for trophies and prizes.

On all the three days tattoo enthusiasts will witness entertaining and high energy acts of live music bands and Djs.

The list of performers include Kabir Cafe, a fusion Sufi band, Jyoti Ram from France who does some crazy acts with his electronic sitar and crystal balls, and a standup comedian who is one of the best in the country.

According to Sameer Patange, “Heartwork has come a long way and has been appreciated not just by tattoo artists but also by general masses in India as well as overseas. The idea of creating Heartwork was to create a general awareness amongst people and that has happened quite successfully. A huge lineup of foreign artists is going to make it to our shores this year. Let them see and know what we Indians are made of when we talk art”.

Lokesh Verma added, “My basic idea to initiate Heartwork was to put Indian tattooing scene on the world map of tattoos. Looking at last year’s response and the number of international artists and media interested in this year’s event, I think we are on the right path. Let’s see where it takes us.” 

Arvind Garg said, “In the first year, Heartwork saw the biggest gathering of professional tattoo artists under one roof in India. With the first year’s success we can already see the tread moving from googling the tattoo design to the customised tattoo, we can see the personal stories in body art has seeped into popular culture. This indicates a dilution in the stigma that is usually associated with tattooing. With this effort Indian artist are able to showcase their skill which is seen at international level and now we can see that more and more Indian artists are being sponsored by international brands. “    

Anu Singh Co-organiser expressed  his thoughts about the celebrated tattoo festival, “We began our journey with Heartwork Tattoo Festival in 2015 to give Indian Artists a big platform to showcase their talent. And with the immense love and support of everyone it started a chain reaction. Carrying on the legacy we are back to give the best lineup of international and national performances in music, tattoos and art that everybody has been waiting for. We are pretty sure and excited that this year too its going to be one heck of a ride.”