Beijing Hosts 2007 China Tattoo Convention

The 3-day convention at the Sunshine Art Space in Beijing opened Saturday morning with a welcoming ceremony and a sign-up session for anyone who wished to get tatted during the event. The following days included various tattoo competitions, a comparative exhibit on Chinese and Western tattoo philosophies and different presentations of tattoos within China and all over the world.

Like any good convention, suppliers were on hands hawking the latest in tattoo products. A supplier booth at the Beijing tattoo shows costs 1,500 USD, a substantial fee for mainland China's tattoo merchants. Seventy-six suppliers from China, Indonesia, France, Germany and England rented booths for the occasion.

According to the convention's official site, the aim of the event was for tattoo enthusiasts to "use their imagination to experience and join in the happy art dimension." While there is no specific theme of the Chinese tattoo show, the convention's planners focus on xiu, the concept of the Chinese tattoo that "connects everyone, expresses affection, and helps people communicate more."

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao banned tattoo art on the grounds that it signaled impurity and ruffianism, and even today members of the Chinese army are forbidden to have tattoos. However, tattoos have figured into the cultures of several of China's ethnic minorities, most notably the Drung and Dai minorities. During Imperial times, tattoos were also used to mark the faces of convicted rapists and murderers - the marring of the physical body with ink was seen as a reflection of the impurity of the mind of the criminal. The negative associations linked with tattoos are still widespread in China. Tattoo art and body modification art in remain largely a counterculture phenomenon and artists working in the medium still struggle to be recognized as such. Just last week, the Beijing Olympic Committee announced that people with tattoos would not be considered to host the opening and medal ceremonies for the 2008 games. The principal of the Beijing Institute of Protocol told the press, "We don't want anyone who looks in any way sleazy because that could really put athletes off."

As China has taken its cultural cues from the West in recent years, and has experienced increased exposure to rock, Hip Hop music and NBA players (nearly half of whom are tatted), the tattoo has become an accessory that defines the modern, rebellious nature of today's Chinese youth culture. More and more Chinese youth, for whatever reason, are re-examining the tattoo as not a willful imperfection imposed upon the body, but as an expression of popular fashion. Tattoo parlors can be found in the smallest Chinese cities serving the impulse of China's hip to indelibly mark their bodies with designs and words.

The convention concludes Monday night with awards and a closing ceremony. As tattoo culture catches on in today's China, the Tattoo Show Convention will surely attract more and more tattoo enthusiasts in years to come.
 

Photos from www.tattooshow.cn