The Ink Inc.

Patange,the man who has inked celebs such as Hrithik Roshan,Sushmita Sen,Kangna Ranaut and Ajay Devgn,to name a few,expanded his Kraayonz Tattoo Studio to different cities with the sole purpose of bridging the gap between artists and clients. This tattoo convention is also born out of the same thought.

“I have been working on the concept of such a convention for the last five years. This year,we found the right association with OML (festival organisers Only Much Louder) and went ahead with it,” he says. What followed was further conceptualising,detailing and networking with international artists. The final result was a confirmation from noted tattoo artists such as Jesus Cabanas aka ‘Sala’ (Spain),Darrin White (US),Larry Brogan (US),John Montgomery (US) and Khan (Japan). Each one specialises in a different technique. “The aim is to expose artists as well as clients to global styles,” says Patange.

For instance,Sala specialises in body modification,which is a new concept for India. “He is especially known for his Swarovski tattoos,” adds Patange. Khan is known for his realistic black,grey and coloured tattoo portraits,White specialises in dark,horror tattoos while Brogan’s Tattoo City studio features one of the largest collections of designs in the world.

“The convention will feature over 45 booths by international as well as Indian tattoo artists. People can visit these booths and even get tattoos done by their preferred artists. Workshops for artists are also on the agenda,” informs Patange. Sala will conduct a workshop on ‘Body Modification’,White on ‘Painterly Style of Tattooing’ and Brogan on ‘How to be a successful international tattoo artist’.

Among the Indian participants are Lokesh (Devil’z Tattooz) from New Delhi,Vicky Malani (Body Canvas Tattoos and Piercings) from Mumbai,Pradeep Menon (Dark Arts Tattoo Studio) from Bengaluru,Funky Monkey from Mumbai and Kevin Andrade (Shoryuken Tattoo) from Mumbai.

Another must-see at the convention will be the live art installations. Described as the ‘musical chairs in the art world’,it will have tattoo artists moving from one canvas to the next,improvising and infusing every installation with their style of art. These installations will then be auctioned for charity. “This convention is the first in the series. Many more will follow,” says Patange,adding,”We chose Pune for the inaugural one because the city has the right mix of crowd – of expats and youngsters. Not that tattooing is limited to these groups; I have tattooed CEOs,doctors,entrepreneurs and so on.”

To register for the tattoo workshops,which are limited to 50 seats,email: info@tattoorepublic.in