SPLICED Issue 04\r\n\r\nThe 2014 Cape Tattoo Expo\r\n\r\nweakening Rand, as the chance to be tattooed by\r\nan international artist of this ilk is a rare one, but be\r\nprepared to max out your pain threshold however,\r\nas there are no second sittings when it comes to an\r\ninternational artist, they simply aren’t around in a\r\nmonth or two.\r\nAlong with the photographic portfolios, you’ll\r\nsee those who are sitting apprehensively, awaiting\r\nthe artist’s pleasure as he or she sets up their\r\nequipment. There is a sense of anticipation, of\r\nnerves, which is usual when being tattooed, but\r\nthere is the added pressure of doing this in a public\r\nenvironment. It’s a very different experience sitting\r\nin your artist’s studio with perhaps only one or two\r\npeople around you, as opposed to your every flinch\r\nof pain or stoic expression being analysed and\r\nindeed photographed by the hundreds of people\r\nwho walk past. I’ve been tattooed at four of the\r\nsix Cape Tattoo Expos, and the experience is very\r\ndifferent to that of being inside my artist’s studio.\r\nThere is both a sense that you need to avoid looking\r\nas if you’re in pain, and at the same time the pain\r\nis strangely more tolerable as the constant flow of\r\npassersby provides a distraction from the persistent\r\naggravation your skin is currently undergoing.\r\nThere is a sense in this environment that you’re a\r\npart of a community. You’re no longer the outsiders\r\nthat people stare at because of your body art –\r\nyou’re a part of a culture that loves and admires your\r\nink and everything that goes with it. \r\n\r\n40\r\n\r\n