Let us take you to Frankfurt where, on the weekend 14-15-16 April the first edition of Gods of Ink took place after so much anticipation on the part of the public, artists from every corner of the world and the tattoo trade.
A grand party which marked the return of the more genuine face of tattoo: that of meet-ups and exchanges, a special world which deep down knows no borders and crosses every boundery whether it be that between nations, genres or cultures.
A globe which turns powered by its own energy and which finally exploded into life again in Frankfurt.
Gods of Ink brought together 350 international tattoo artists, selected by Miki Vialetto to provide a live show the best in tattoo, hard at work, to be admired and savoured finally in the setting of the splendid location of Frankfurt Messe Forum: over 100,000 square metres spread over three storeys, perfectly organised with viewing windows from which to admire the floor, escalators, open air spaces for food and beverage, an entire floor of suppliers, a room devoted to tatami, one for the main stage where together with all of us from Tattoo Life were some of the greatest names in tattoo.
“For me Gods of Ink represented a rebirth and a gamble rolled into one. I came from over thirty years of the London Tattoo Convention where each edition was a huge success born out by the enthusiasm and sheer numbers of the public and the artists who saw this event as a high point in their career.
First of all there was the passing of my partner Marcus Berriman and the decision not to continue with this project without him. Then along came the pandemic, a total stop for everything in our sector after which it felt like it would be impossible to go back to the kind of conventions we had always been the heart of. Total lockdown and the conviction that for me too it was the end of a chapter in 2019. Four years later, everything needed to be rebuilt from scratch. ”
“What gave me the most satisfaction? Definitely the international public who made the effort to come to Frankfurt from all over the world, but above all the immediate, positive response of tattoo artists I invited to take part. And so the great wheel started turning and I hope that this Gods of Ink will be a positive input so that all the conventions will start up again and keep this world of ours turning.”
Tattooists all hard at work from day one (350 chosen and invited by Miki Vialetto, HERE the full list), with new appointments, works in progress, and walk ins who finally got a chance to pass from spectators to actors in the convention, choose and get a tattoo of their own over the course of the three days.
“A nasty habit I had wanted to break was that of a convention under a bell jar where the visitors never got the chance to get tattooed because the tattooists already arrived with their agenda full for the three days or wanted to showcase themselves with the best piece to bring to the contest”.
Speaking of contests, they were held on Saturday and Sunday and these are the winners announced by Dirk-Boris Rödel who presented all of the events which followed on the stage, from the Fuell Girls to the dj set di DJ Dag and the About Kings Concert:
1 GAKKIN
2 DINO VALLELY
3 SOONIL XHEAD
1 MATT JORDAN
2 CARLOS TORRES
3 MARCO KLOSE
1 VLADOLLA
2 FRANCESCO FRIGENTI
3 ANJELIKA KARTASHEVA
1 IGOR MITRENGA
2 YARSON TATTOO
3 SIMONE MARCHI
1 RICH HARRIS
2 NIKITA KATRAKOV
3 LAINEY BEE
1 HORIKEN SHIBUYA
2 SHIGE
3 NISSACO
1 NIKOLAI IVANOV/VLADISLAV SHETIKOV
2 ANTON GRONSKIY
3 RICH HARRIS
SAVE THE DATE
for the next edition which will be held in April 2024 here at the Frankfurt Messe Forum. The exact dates will soon be announced on the Instagram page @godsofinktattooconvention
