London Tattoo Convention 2009

The last weekend of September 2009 was a memorable one for East London. There were hundreds of tattoo and body artists from all over the globe attending and performing their trade from traditional Nordic facial tattoos applied with a chisel and hammer to heart-stopping full body designs ranging from Eastern mystic creatures to science fiction characters and more.
The Convention is well known for its wide variety of entertainment from exhibitions, artistic events and live rock bands to burlesque performers from around the world. The food stalls are bewildering in their variety and mouth watering in their offerings. There are also your traditional East End bars and pubs but the best part of the day is just sitting with an ale in the corner and watching the throngs pass by in all their glory.
25,000 body art aficionados descended on the Tobacco Docks for the fifth annual London Tattoo Convention. Full on piercings and implants, full body art, dragon horns and devil sprouts. They were all there. So many attendees stood out for their artistry, wackiness or just plain gorgeousness. One in particular, a 29 yr old Japanese woman called Rie Gomita won the Coxsoft Art Bum Of The Month Award in deference to her rather gorgeously tattooed buttocks.
The event has been widely reported in the mainstream press, as one broadsheet said proudly: “Some of the world’s top artists fly in for the occasion giving British tattoo fans a plethora of styles and attitudes to choose from. The Japanese and Chicano (Mexican-American) styles seemed to have the longest queues. Forget “tramp stamps” or small butterflies tucked away discreetly on a barely visible part of the body. At the London Tattoo Convention big and bold is definitely in.”
Go London!!?We are still waiting for the final verdict from Guinness but orgaisers assured everyone that they managed to beat the previous Guinness world record for most people simultaneously tattooed under one roof.