China witnesses misfit tattoo boom

The three-day long largest tattoo gathering in Chinas capital Beijing evoked a huge response with thousands of people visiting the convention for either donning the ink on themselves or for seeing the displayed works of tattoo artists.

New Delhi, June 18 : The three-day long largest tattoo gathering in China's capital Beijing evoked a huge response with thousands of people visiting the convention for either donning the ink on themselves or for seeing the displayed works of tattoo artists.

Tattoos that were once associated with criminals and considered misfit in China have become a fad with a growing number of youngsters having no qualms in getting their tattoo photographed.

German tattoo artist Frank Kassebaum, who was among 100 other participants in the Tattoo Show Convention 2007, said that he was completely taken aback by what he saw there.

"Before I came here, I thought that China wasn't so far along in its tattoo culture, but from what I see here, I really think that, in 10 years, they'll be better than the United States, Japan and Europe," China Daily quoted him, as saying.

"The boom in Japan was 10 years ago; now, the boom is here," Kassebaum added.

The show, that began in 2001 as a low profile event, was intended to provide a platform for interaction among Chinese tattoo artists from around the country, with their international counterparts and public.

New York based Chris Wroblewski, who is co-organising the event with the founder of the convention, Xiao Long, said that though Chinese tattooing was still in its 'infancy', and it often emulates the West, yet they have begun picking up their roots and would soon start demanding more of their own culture.

He said that there would be a proliferation of both "high art and low art" Chinese tattooing.

ANI