TATTOOING AND piercing seem like recession-proof businesses, if attendance at an event in Dublin at the weekend is a reliable indicator.
About 130 tattoo artists from all over the world drew crowds to Ballsbridge for the Dublin Tattoo Convention 2009 – the seventh such event organised by piercing artist Paddy O’Donohoe.
While this year’s event lacked the one thing last year’s had – a hilarious performance atop a unicycle by the man officially recognised as the most tattooed in the world – there was no shortage of entertainment in the form of bands and burlesque dancers.
O’Donohoe himself happily posed for a photographer, baring his back and one buttock to show off his extensive artwork. He said he was happy with the attendance at the Ballsbridge Inn and the artist list from all over Europe and the US and as far afield as Malaysia.
Music pumped and needles buzzed as customers browsed the artwork in laminated books on each stand. Flowers, Chinese and Tibetan symbols, Celtic designs, traditional sailor-style tattoos and animals were among the most prominent designs on display.
Women and men queued for piercings from €25 a go at a stand where Regina Fahy and the staff from Naas and Newbridge-based The Razor’s Edge had taken up residence.
Much flesh and ink was publicly bared without a blush.
Tibetan symbols in one brochure stood for “disaster”, “justice”, “the end” and “destroy”. You could have had the full “recession” set if you’d the money to pay.
At the Dark Raptor stand, the Kilkenny-based artist was inking a large dragon across a man’s back – a job that looked like it would take many hours of patient pain-endurance.
Chris O’Driscoll, a graphic designer from Cork, displayed an extensive “sleeve” of work on his right arm, incorporating his family name Ó Drisceoil. He bore a Clockwork Orange tattoo on his left.
One of his tattoos had already had about 20 hours’ work. “A sleeve generally tells a story,” he said.
“I think modern life is very regulated and all the rest of it and this has a bit of ritual and tradition to it – something that’s missing in modern life.”
Yesterday was competition day, with prizes for the best tattoo in a range of categories, and a raffle in aid of the Irish Seal Sanctuary. But the bravery prize of the weekend should go to the tattoo artist whose proudly displayed images included one of what appeared to be a pitbull with its name tattooed across its chest.
Watch Cyril Byrne’s slideshow of the Dublin Tattoo Convention at irishtimes.com/slideshows