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COVER STORY
The Rise Of Body Art In China Nyima Pratten
Tattoos And Taboos in Shanghai
Shanghai is welcoming two international tattoo shows over the coming months, the Shanghai International Tattoo Extreme & Body Art Expo, from 11 September to 13 September, and the Shanghai International Tattoo Festival, from 1 October to 5 October. Both shows will bring big names from the tattoo world to town, as well as showcase local talent. In honour of this occasion, we decided to take a deeper look at tattoos and taboos in Shanghai.
T
attoos are nothing new to the Middle Kingdom; in fact, they have had a long and varied history in China. In ancient Chinese literature, there are references to bandits and warriors with their entire bodies covered by tattoos. Furthermore, some Chinese ethnic minorities, such as the Li and Dai, traditionally would tattoo their faces and bodies to portray strength and beauty, or as a right of passage. These tribal tattoos would be rudimentary dots and lines, drawn over a period of time on the face, arms and legs. However, nowadays, as these minority cultures have assimilated with the modern world, it is quite uncommon to find minority people who still display the markings, save for a few old women back in their villages. In more recent history, tattoos were associated with triads
and organised crime, as many gang members would be tattooed with a mark signifying their allegiance to one group. Nevertheless, even with these recent negative connotations, the trend for body art in China seems to be growing faster than ever, as youngsters, and the older generation alike, look for ways to differentiate and represent themselves in a country that is rapidly developing and becoming ever more materialistic. These new waves of patrons don’t appear to show any concern for the negative associations once linked with the art form. Instead, Chinese customers not only look to places like the West and other parts of Asia for body art inspiration, but they are also looking inwards, at Chinese art and culture, Andrea Afferni
for design ideas. Shanghai resident and tattoo enthusiast, Huiyi Zhu, told Talk, “I like the idea of my body being a canvas, my tattoos all tell a story and are part of my life experiences and cultural heritage.” The first international tattoo show to be hitting Shanghai in September is Shanghai International Tattoo Extreme & Body Art Expo, organised by Tattoo Extreme Magazine from Taiwan. They are bringing with them a wide variety of authentic, as well as up-and-coming tattoo artists, and will be working with local talent in the form of Zheng Jin from Zhencang Tattoo, Jacky Huang from Yu Tattoo and Tao from Tattoo Family. The International Tattoo Festival, on the other hand, will be hitting the city in October and bringing with them a wealth of famous international talent such as, Hailin Fu, from Liehuo Tattoo, USA, Paul Booth, from Last Rites Tattoo, USA, Richie Lucero, from Black Cat Tatto, USA and Andrea Afferni from Andrea Afferni, Italy. We talked to Hailin Fu, an internationally famous Chinese tattoo master, and host of The International Tattoo Festival in Shanghai. He has taught over 300 students the art of tattooing and has the unique
Andrea Afferni
TalkMagazine
September15