Anyone who takes a walk around the Summer Expo Tattoo space, at the back of one of the event’s parts (inside the Simón Bolívar auditorium), may get the impression that the group is not very interested in abandoning the many show opportunities taking place outside to pass by a few hours marking the skin. But the dynamics seem to be very different: it’s less about impulse tattoos and more about properly planned ones.
Vinicius Rocha, 27, one of the tattoo artists present at the site, says that people tend to plan in advance for this type of work. “The general public gets in touch via Instagram and we make arrangements,” he says. He says that people from Europe have already come to tattoo with his studio team. “A German came, last year, to tattoo directly with us. One of the organizers of the event out there.”
This was the choice of Bianca Yasmin, 30, a business analyst who was there tattooing something very private: a Gene Simmons autograph.
She came from Suzano, in the interior of São Paulo, and got in line to participate in the signing session with the bassist and founder of Kiss, with a plan in mind. “As there was only one item per person to autograph, I preferred to do it on my arm.” As they already had booths in place and she already knew the artist’s work online, she ended up doing it right there. “To be marked forever.”
