The buzz of tattoo guns and the smell of ink filled the air at Exhibition Park as people flooded in to explore body art and techniques from around the world.
For the last 11 years, local tattoo artist Will Woods and his wife Ashley have been hosting tattooists at Windy City Tattoo Weekend.
The convention has been adapting since its first year, and has grown to host 94 vendors and typically welcomes around 4,000 visitors.
“[It’s about] listening to people, I never have a problem listening to feedback. Whether it’s good or bad, I want to hear it. I try to learn from the public, and see what they want,” Woods said.
Fashion shows, MMA fighters, a piercing booth and clothing are just a few of the things Woods has brought in to keep the expo fresh. Body suspension, the act of putting hooks through skin and suspending a person, was featured Saturday. Shibari, a form of Japanese art was featured on Sunday.
Over the past decade the festival has built a strong reputation that keeps artists and visitors returning.
“The atmosphere at this one I find is a lot better than most. There’s a lot to offer here, it’s the perfect size, everybody is busy, there’s a lot of quality artists. Will and Ash are just great people, they put together one of the best conventions in Alberta,” said Geoff Bourrie, a tattoo artist from Drumheller.
Bourrie added that he doesn’t go to very many conventions anymore, but Lethbridge is one he will return to consistently.
Another draw to the festival this year was actor Robert Lassardo. Heavily inked, and easily recognizable from guest starring roles in shows including Criminal Minds and CSI: Miami, Lassardo talked with visitors at the convention for the whole weekend.
“I grew up in New York City in the 1970’s and I think for me it was a rite of passage, a way to reclaim this idea of myself like a lot of the other young men who were kind of displaced, wandering around. The tattoo became the mark to kind of bond us all in our rebellion and our realization that we were outsiders. The ink was an official stamp of a very real circumstance.”
Lassardo added that he is impressed with the level of artwork that tattoo artists produce and being able to see work from all over the world was a unique experience.
“A lot of people get freaked out by the permanency of [tattoos] but for me that was what attracted me to it, this is the one thing that can’t be taken away from me. I love the permanence of it. I love the commitment, because of what it represented to us, before it was trendy, before it was cool, before it was acceptable, before it was safe.”
Lassardo’s sentiment on tattoos appears to be infecting more of today’s society. People are eager to become living, breathing, pieces of art.
According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, about 38 per cent of millennials have at least one tattoo. The idea of self-expression is intoxicating and people are eager to decorate their bodies.
“It’s a mixture of the art form, and the therapy it gives me to change myself into the person I’ve always wanted to be,” said Morgan Bentley, a young woman who was getting tattooed by Edmonton artist Shae Motz at Windy City.
Pain doesn’t seem to be a factor when it comes to displaying art for most. Many of those who got tattooed at the festival sat unflinchingly, talking and laughing with the artists who were working on them.
Brittany Richmond sat for over 20 hours for the piece she got from Liz Venom, an artist out of Edmonton. She said the pain was a lot to take, but was absolutely worth the finished piece.
Richmond and countless other clients left the expo with satisfied smiles and new artwork as the tattoo expo wrapped up on Sunday.
Anyone who doesn’t want to wait until next years expo can visit any of the eight tattoo shops around Lethbridge.
