Business Wire IndiaIt is said that one’s body is a temple, but how long can one live in the same house before you redecorate. In fact, renowned actor Angelina Jolie said once that all her tattoos came at good times, adding that “a tattoo is something permanent when you've made a self-discovery, or something you've come to a conclusion about”. And as author Sylvia Plath said, a tattoo is like wearing one’s heart on one’s skin.
Realizing that tattoo is now no longer just a tribal ritual but is turning into a fashion statement, the second Heartwork Tattoo Festival is being held in the capital’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium from the 2nd till 4th December 2016 with the participation of around 110 artists in over 100 booths. The event will feature some of the best tattoo artistes from around ten countries.
The event is being organized by the Czars of The Indian Tattoo Industry who formed a group called Creative Skin Graphic Pvt Ltd. to revolutionize tattoo art all over India as they realized that getting inked was more than just a ritual. It was in the true sense Heartwork. Heartwork is the brainchild of four pillars of the Indian tattoo industry: Lokesh Verma of Devil'z Tattooz, Delhi; Sameer Patange of Kraayonz Tattoo Studios, Mumbai; the biggest distributor of tattoo equipment in India, Anu Singh of Tattoo Empire, and Arvind Garg of Tattoo Gizmo.
The opening performance will be by the renowned singer Remo D’souza with a live tattoo on him.
There will also be live workshops by the legends of the International tattoo industry. They take upcoming artists through demonstrations on various art practices and design methods.
Participating tattoo artists include Jay Freestyle from the Netherlands, Bez 666 from the United Kingdom, Stepan Nagur from Russia, and Fred from Spain – all of whom have already achieved name and fame internationally.
There will also be live Tattoo on-the-spot competitions across the three days of the Festival, with multiple categories to compete in. The best tattoos everyday will be eligible for trophies and prizes by the sponsors.
All three days will see live music bands and Dj’s and performing artists will entertain audience with their high energy acts.
They include Kabir Cafe Sort of a fusion Sufi band, Jyoti Ram from France who does some crazy acts with the electronic sitar and crystal balls, and a standup comedian who is one of the best in the country.
The TLC TV channel is already running details about the contests and the promoting the Festival. In addition, the Festival will reach out to more than one million followers through social media including Twitter.
According to Sameer Patange, “Heartwork has come a long way and has been appreciated not just by tattoo artists but also by general masses in India as well as overseas. The idea of creating Heartwork was to create a general awareness amongst people and that has happened quite successfully. A huge lineup of foreign artists is going to make it to our shores this year let them see and know what we Indians are made of when we talk art.”
Lokesh Verma added: “My basic idea to initiate Heartwork was to put Indian tattooing scene on the world map of tattoos. Looking at the last year's response and the number of international artists and media interested in this year's event, I think we are on the right path. Let's see where it takes us.”
According to Arvind Garg, “In the first year, Heartwork saw the biggest gathering of professional tattoo artist under one roof in India. With a success of first year we can already see the tread moving from googling the tattoo design to the customized tattoo, we can see the personal stories in body art has seeped into popular culture. This indicates a dilution in the stigma that is usually associated with tattooing. With this effort Indian artist are able showcase their skill which is seen at international level and now we can see more and more Indian artist are sponsored by international brands.”
Anu Singh Co organizer expressed, “We began our journey with Heartwork Tattoo Festival in 2015 to give Indian Artists a big platform to showcase their talent. And with the immense love and support of everyone it started a chain reaction. Carrying on the legacy we are back to give the best lineup of International & National Performances in Music, Tattoo's & Art that everybody has been waiting for. We are pretty sure & excited that this year too its going to be one heck of a Ride.”
The tattoo art industry is poised at a growth of 100 to 150 per cent annually, and the number of professional tattoo artistes has grown from 14,000 in 2012 to an estimated 28,000 in 2014. The industry was making $ 1.2 billion annually in 2012 and the revenue has now gone up three times. Delhi itself has around 100 professional tattoo studios and 300 home based artists
Tattoo art is an old art, with spiritual connotations in some tribal cultures of the belief to follow the bearer into the afterlife. Slowly but surely, tattoos are beginning to carve for themselves their own niche in the cultural fabric of society as an art form.
Photo Caption: 2nd Edition of Heartwork Tattoo Festival at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, New Delhi 2nd to 4th December 2016
