By Maria Gregoriou
Last June the first Cyprus International Tattoo convention painted Limassol a whole bunch of inked colours, and this year it is ready to do it all over again with more than 70 tattooists and piercers from around the world… plus live performances from artists and bands.
They say before getting a tattoo you should be sure that what you will mark your body with should be symbolic to you and that you choose the spot wisely (it is for life after all). That is why we are giving you ample time to think about your design and the rest of it before the convention in April.
Two hundred presale tickets to the event will soon be available in different locations around the island. Keep your eye on the event’s Facebook page to know when and where they will be available because with your ticket, you also get a chance to be a winner of the 13 prizes worth €1,000. These gifts include vouches for tattoos, piercings and merchandise given by different vendors of this year’s convention.
The convention won’t just be full of tattoo artists showing off their inking talents, it will also offer those who are interested the chance to buy tattoo supplies. There will also be clothes and accessories on sale and some live music performances from lots of bands whose members most probably have a few tattoos of their own.
But before we get into the entertainment for the three-day convention, just a heads up that some of the tattoo work by participating artists will be entered into the tattoo contest. So if you are still considering who is the best artist for you, the outcome of the competitions or the work put forward to be judged, may help you come to a decision.
Now to the event’s schedule and the music scene.
The tattooing needles will come out on April 3 at 2pm when the doors open. The first tattoo contest will commence at 8pm when the tattoo for best portrait will be announced. The second contest of the day will be at 9.30pm, for best tattoo of the day.
The band will be Crash ‘N’ Burn who will be taking t the stage at 8.30pm. The band from Nicosia consists of Antonis Georgiadis on drums, Christ Zaharopoullos on guitar and Giorgos Nikolaou on bass guitar. The trio is set to get the place rocking with a mixture of stoner, madness and metal.
Saturday is when things really start to heat up. The first event of the day is a body airbrush presentation by Anexitilon art and design studio. If done right, body airbrushing (or body painting) can create a great visual illusion, so let’s get ready to see how the body can be used as a canvas to temporarily trick the eye.
Next up is a martial arts presentation at 4pm, then a tattoo contest at 4.40pm for best traditional tribal and best black and grey tattoo. There will also be a fashion show and more tattoo contests, but there will also be much more music with the bands and musicians Dynarhymes, Midenistis, The Zilla Project and Neon Knights.
The two member band from Cyprus, Dynarhymes, plus artist Midentistis from Greece, will provide the hop hop vibe for the day.
If you prefer the blues then the four-piece band The Zilla Project will be playing their version of the blues. Emmanuel Vourakis on vocals and the guitar, Nicolas Melis on the piano, Omiros Andreou on bass guitar, and Stafanos Meletiou on the drums, will give the convention an American style of things with some energetic covers of classical blues songs but also some original compositions.
The last act of the night is Neon Knights with some heavy metal.
Sunday gives us a second chance to see some body airbrushing in action at 4pm, followed by music from the Rawbin Cult, an alternative four-member rock band from Nicosia. The band to rock your Sunday are Constantina Perdiou on vocals, Chris Patinis on guitar, Nicholas Braskelis on bass and Sotiris Lavas on drums.
The last band to leave a lingering musical rock and funk note in the air will be Barebone, who are Constantinos Costantinou on vocals, Harry Pari on guitar, Petors Michael on bass and Constantinos Pavlides on drums.
Second International Tattoo Convention Cyprus
Three day convention with tattoo and piercing artists, live shows and performances. April 3-5. Carob Mills, Limassol. All day event. €20 presale. Email: [email protected]
