Body art at the BMICH
Yorkatron (left) at work at the Tatto convention. Picture courtesy Sri Lanka International Tattoo Convention
The humming sound of needles meeting flesh, greets one at the door. The walk down the aisle at the Mihilanka Medura, BMICH is interesting recently, as a few grimace in pain, while others put on a brave face. The more experienced ones watch on, as they get inked at the first ever Sri Lanka International Tattoo Convention.
For the first time more than 25 tattoo artists from across the country gathered under one roof, to display their work, and left many astounded.
As the tattoo machines hummed along, body art fans made themselves comfortable on the tables. It was going to be a long wait. While some of the smaller designs took about 20-30 minutes per piece, the more intricate pieces took hours to complete.
The artists were welcoming and their tattoos were mostly generic. There was a clear distinction when it came to the selection of tattoos between the young and the old. Many of the fans were adding to their collection and the traditional tribal art was the clear favourite. However, those getting inked for the first time seemed to limit themselves to smaller pieces, such as a beautiful verse or a symbol etc.
Some of the country’s greatest artists graced the stalls to turn visions and ideas into beautiful works of art. In most cases, fans picked a design out of the albums that the artists portrayed.
Among the great line-up of artists were, Sajee Tattoo, from Galle, Chamil Madhushanka, Janith Paul, Jai Mendis, Isuru Kavinda, Sunith Virantha, Suresh, Rukshan Madhushanka, Aloka Tattoos, Mount Lavinia, Ravi Tattoo Kandy, Cletus, Swaranga Adeesh, Prabath Marawila from studio Ink, located in Nawinna, Ashan Randima, Charith Nirudha from Shonu Tattoos, Manoj Peries, Saman Aloka, Sajith de Silva, Nirmal Ruvinda and ‘Tattoo Paradise,’ the modern artists from Mount Lavinia.
Amongst the local talent was also an international, travelling tattoo artist, Yorkatron. The heavily tatted up American, was more than happy to talk to us, just as he awaited his next customer.
“I’m a staunch traditionalist and I travel the world,” he tells me adding that a lot of the countries he’s visiteddevelop their own form of tattoo systems.
Pix by- Amila Gamage
Commenting on the talent that he witnessed, whilst working at Tattoo Paradise and at the convention, he says, “To me the outline is the most important thing. So you don’t see a lot of outlines in a lot of developing tattoo countries but you can see it start. And I’ve seen it start in Sri Lanka, which gives me great hope for the future of tattooing here.”
“I really feel that within four-five years, this place is going to be jamming with more good tattoo artists,” he adds.
Yorkatron tattooed his way to circumnavigate the planet, earning himself the title”traveling Tattooer.” He has worked at 26 different shops in 11 different countries and counting and has been on the road for seven long years, never once stopping to go home during that time. Aside from the tattooing, he also busies himself with learning about the many cultures in a country and their different styles of tattooing.
Throughout his travels, one thing has stuck with him and is to this day a constant, he tells me. And that is the importance of sticking to the traditional rules of the art, being versatile enough to tattoo in every style and to treat every client with respect.
“As nasty as this business can be, I try my best not to get sucked in by its negativity. I try to have each of my clients leave with an experience and not just a tattoo that will look good for the remainder of their lives,” he says, adding “I’m obnoxious, I’m fun, I say a lot of things I shouldn’t and I hope that my clients will always remember me for that.”
Tattoo enthusiasts that wanted to check out the convention were somewhat discouraged by the entrance ticket price. Nevertheless the hall was still abuzz and played an important role in providing a platform for local tattoo artists.
