Culture and Living | mbl | Sat 3 Jun 2017 | 11.44 GMT

A Reykjavik celebration of an ancient artform, the tattoo

There are thirty artists participating in the festival this year. Photo: Icelandic Tattoo Convention

Sóley Björk Guðmundsdóttir

The Icelandic Tattoo Convention is taking place in one of Reykjavik’s historical buildings, Gamla bíó, this weekend for the 12th year in a row.

Walking into the festival the first thing you see is an abundance of people with plenty of ink. Aside from that, the floor is lined with tables, and by them there are artists with needles in hand, people lying or sitting in front of them. Each table is covered with pictures of tattoos and drawings, which will perhaps decorate someone’s body by the end of the weekend. There are people lining up to look at what the artists have to offer. Some have ideas of their own which they collaborate on with an artist of their choice. Others just pick a piece and have it tattooed on them then and there.

“Some people collect tattoos after different artists. This is like art that decorates your home, you wouldn’t have pictures after only one artist,” says festival director, Össur Halldórsson of Reykjavik Ink.

It's possible to contact the artists online and book a slot before the festival, but very few are fully booked over the whole weekend so there's no difficulty in choosing an artist and getting a tattoo at the festival.

There are drawings and pictures on every table, the artists' skill on display. Photo: Icelandic Tattoo Convention

Highly sought after by artists

There are 30 artists from over 10 countries performing at the festival, which is highly sought after to participate in. “We could easily have 150-200 artists here,” says Halldórsson.

“The first convention was held in Amsterdam in 1980, and it was a melting pot of different styles from all over the world. That’s what we want to create by getting artists with different styles from different countries. We choose the artists to accomplish that melting pot.”

A quick word with some of the artists confirmed that. Many of them had been a part of the convention for years. It was American Annie Alonzi’s third year at the convention. She came with her boss who's been a part of the festival for a decade. When Iceland Monitor caught up with her she was busy tattooing a woman, and the tattoo was based upon an embroidery by the woman’s great grandmother.

This is Scotland based artist Boris Bianchi’s first convention. His wife Francesca, who accompanied him at the convention, believed they got lucky and someone dropped out and that’s how they got in. They have been on conventions like this all over the world, and had wanted to come to Iceland for a while. They decided to kill two birds with one stone, extend their trips and do a bit of sightseeing while they are here.

The festival is held in Gamla bíó, a recently renovated building in central Reykjavik. Photo: Icelandic Tattoo Convention

An ancient artform

Halldórsson and his wife first held the convention 12 years ago. They were at the time pioneers of the scene, as this was the first event of its kind in Iceland. But 12 years ago was a very different time and attitude towards tattoos in Iceland not what it is today.

“When we first started we were referred to in a different manner, tattoo guys or something like that, now we are tattoo artists. And thats what it is, it’s an ancient artform. People were using tattoo B.C. Vikings had tattoos, and pirates. People nowadays don’t see it like they did 15 years ago, and today more people have tattoos than not. Now it’s more positive. People get tattoos for different reasons now, often connected to their children or in someone's memory. A few years back it was just about being cool.”