Bonn

A woman lies there, her intimate body parts only just covered, under the eyes of thousands of passersby, while a man relentlessly pokes her body with needles. An excerpt from the international Tattoo Convention that was held this weekend in Berlin.

The public display of the body does not summon much amazement here. Masters of this craft and tattooed visitors meet here just to see others and show themselves. The international tattoo show has been held for 22 years now and attracts more than 200 tattoo, piercing and transdermal specialists and dealers of accessories to the big arena.

A representative from Lithuania also took part in the event: Andrius Augulis, known as Augis Tattoo. He came to face the battle of the best with many masters of body painting from all over the world. The 26-year-old Lithuanian, now living and working in Denmark, took part in a number of tattoo competitions. Although he did not earn any Berlin laurels, Augis is returning to Lithuania satisfied.


“At a convention like this, you simply make a name for yourself. Taking part in the competition, you show yourself, your work and impress the public,” said Augis. For him, participating alone was worth it; many interested people visited his stand. “I’m satisfied with my performance; I overdid myself a little.”

The opportunity to take part in such an important Tattoo Convention was a great compliment, according to the Lithuanian. It is not enough to simply pay the stand fee – in this case 600 euros – to take part in such an event, one must be invited by the organizers. At the weekend, the fair attracts many visitors as the long queues at the entrance and the overfilled cloakrooms of the arena demonstrate.


All day long, the tattoo pros, observed by spectators, adorn human bodies in their little booths. Depending on the size, pricking a tattoo can take up to twenty hours. For example, Tomas Daubaras, the model for Augis Tattoo, suffered the needle pricks on Saturday for about 12 to 13 hours. Another model, Renata Marcinkutė, bore the pain that grows by the hour a little less since her tattoo was smaller and simpler. “Simple, female, sympathetic little skull,” as Augis described the image. The masters always bring along reliable models who have enough endurance to hold out for at least four to five hours, according to Augis Tattoo.

Then, the selected models go on stage where they are viewed by the attentive eyes of the jury and the audience. Some had to drop their trousers in the limelight to show their body art. Others showed their naked breasts.


This did not seem to bother anyone. On the contrary, the contest for the most beautiful tattooed girl, the Tattoo Queen, enjoys growing interest. Young women of various proportions display their body art, undress down to their bikinis and some even throw off the last bit of clothing to convince the audience and the jury.

According to Dirk Hofmeister, a psychologist at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, exhibitionism and extreme physical alterations are indispensable elements of such events. The psychologist travelled to the show because he is studying the prevalence of tattoos and other physical modifications in society and their psychological causes. He agreed to accompany me and help me get my bearings from the point of view of an expert. You can read more about the characteristics of tattoo psychology soon on Delfi.