Melbourne loves its tattoos. Heck, there are some parts of this city where we swear you can’t walk down the street without seeing a sleeve or two. If you’re one of the thousands of inked Melburnians (or you're thinking about taking the plunge), check out the Australian Tattoo Expo when it rolls into town from Friday, December 1 to Sunday, December 3.
For three days the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre will be hosting more than 400 tattoo artists from Australia and across the world. Look out for international stars from as far and wide as as Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, USA, Indonesia and Sweden.
The full line-up of artists is available online now with the whole scope of tattoo genres covered: traditional, neo-traditional, realism, black and grey, dotwork, linework, Japanese, new school, tribal, script, watercolour and even cosmetic tattooing.
If you’re all about filling in every square inch of your skin, there'll be plenty of opportunities to get some spontaneous ink at the expo. Celebrity tattoo artist Lauren Winzer (who's tatted the likes of Miley Cyrus and Post Malone) will be doing free flash tattoos all weekend long, or if you're feeling super brave, you can try the Tattoo Glory Hole. Slide your arm through a slot in the wall and place your faith in the artist on the other side, and walk away with a fresh tatt and a great story. Or if you're after some inspiration for your next piece, you can watch world famous tattoo competitions, where artists will vy for the prestigious "Tattoo of the Show" title.
As well as getting info on the latest tattoo trends there will be demonstrations of what not to do at the Shittest Tattoo competition. Because if you’ve got a bad tattoo that you regret you might as well try to win something with it, right?
Plus, there'll be plenty of entertainment across the three days, with breathtaking fire shows and local DJs taking the stage. Tickets are on sale now – purchase yours or find more info on the Australian Tattoo Expo website.
