I was super privileged to be invited as an artist at the first ever Sydney Tattoo Convention at Town Hall. The event was amazing- probably because it was owned and run by tattoo artists, so there were no gimmicks, cheap entertainment or grabs for cash...it was genuinely all about the art of tattooing.
I arrived in Sydney City after completing a guest spot at the highly coveted Atlantis Tattoo. Despite being buggered I was pumped when I saw the incredible venue. I don’t know how Katie and the gang managed to secure Town Hall (Sydney Council are insanely strict and notoriously difficult)- but I am stoked that they did. Town Hall is the largest and most ornate late 19th century civic building in Australia. It featured Victorian interiors, a huge arse chandelier and crazy elaborate and ornate decoration. It was wild and also ironic seeing it filled with tattoo artist misfits and people covered in ink! The convention was awesome with over 150 of the best Australian and International tattoo artists. Rhys Gordon was the host/MC and he was a cracker! I spent the entire time tattooing, but I heard that the seminars were epic too!
Friday was wild because it started with meeting Freddy Corbin and a few industry legends and then, we were straight into tattooing after setup. The event didn’t begin until later in the afternoon and we had just over 2 hours to tattoo before the anime category was judged. I was super fortunate enough to be selected by the judges and awarded for ‘2ND Place’ in Best Small/Medium Anime and also ‘Tattoo of the Day’.
Saturday was much more chilled because we weren’t so pressed for time. I had my OG clients from back in the beginning of my career (husband and wife Lana and Matt) drive over an hour to attend and be my canvases. Shoutout and massive thanks to those legends! I designed a black and grey surrealism piece for Matt and because I am mostly sought after for colour pieces, I was nervous. Matt sat like a boss and I had Rach and Nat running the booth and networking for me. I entered Matt’s tattoo in ‘Best Small to Medium Black and Grey’ and genuinely almost had a heart attack when we won. The quality of the work and tattooing at the event was off its head. We were next to Dan Malloy which wasn’t intimidating at all.... (big fan! Haha). Natalie, one of my clients travelled to Sydney to take part in the convention. Her leg piece of Neytiri from Avatar won first place in ‘Best Small/Medium Colour Realism’
My only RAgret was not getting to chat to more artists and mingle. Everyone there was a legend and super friendly. I think next time I might give myself a day where I am not tattooing so I can chat with everyone and admire their work.
Friday- Runner Up ‘Best Small to Medium Anime’
1st Place- Tattoo of the Day
Saturday
1st ‘Best Small to Medium Black and Grey’
1st ‘Best Colour Realism’
Huge shoutout and lots of gratitude to Katie and Todd Bailey, Rhys Gordon and the crew at 13 Feet for putting on an epic event. It was great to catch up with old friends and get up to no good with new ones. My personal highlight was catching up with Dong Dong who was here from China and had previously tattooed my arm and meeting the ever humble Dan Molloy and Freddy Corbin. Thanks for having us guys. We would love to come back next year and do it all again.
Jacob
Comments