“We wanted to take Rites of Passage to another level and create more exposure for the whole tattoo art industry in Australia,” he says. “Claire did 180 artists and about 3000 patrons. Last year we did 247 artists with 10,000 patrons. This year we’re doing 287 artists and we’re expecting up to 15,000 patrons.”
Among those 287 tattoo artists are the four headlining artists, Nikko Hurtado, Carlos Torres and Franco Vescovi from the USA, and Japan’s Shigenori Iwasaki (aka Shige). Aside from being one of the world’s leading tattooists, Shige’s inclusion ties in with the event’s deeper focus on the artistic innovations seen in the Japanese Edo period (1600-1868).
“We’re doing an Edo Japanese art exhibition, which will be exhibiting one of the artworks that Shige did himself,” Mack says. “He hand-painted it using crushed gold. The method of painting and the style that he’s painted in has not been seen in a few hundred years. It’s pretty amazing. Shige is probably the only artist in the world that can keep to that traditional method of Edo art.”
While the traditional methods have largely faded from use, chances are someone you know has an Edo art tattoo. Mack clarifies that this trend isn’t just some kitschy appropriation. “Japanese art has a very deep origin in tattoo art,” he says. “[Tattooing] is the second oldest profession in the world, next to being a hooker. It dates before any trade in the world. People think it’s a very new form of art, but it’s older than anyone could understand. It has a lot of meaning to it too. We’ve created it to be a very mainstream form of art now, but it did originate from a very strong tribal sense.”
Interestingly, before finding his feet as a tattoo artist, Shige was a Harley Davidson mechanic. Appropriately, a Harley bike will be raffled off over the course of this weekend. However, that doesn’t mean the event’s only suitable for chopper-riding men with hairy faces and heavily inked flesh.
“We believe art is for everybody,” says Mack. “We understand that there’s different facets of cultures, so to appeal to just one facet, you’re pigeonholing yourself. We have different ways that we’re trying to appeal to different audiences, with the same goal. We want them to come to the event, and then they’re going to love what they see, they’re going to respect the art, they’re going to appreciate it.
“Last year we had families coming to this event who had probably never seen a tattoo studio in their life. They were blown away, and that’s what we want. We want to captivate the entire public. The tattoo thing is not just for ‘tattoo people’. You don’t have to be tattooed; you can come along and there’s great art there as well.”
The event’s appeal mightn’t hinge on people’s willingness to get tattooed, but anyone that is won over by the beauty of tattoo art will find ample opportunity to get inked on the day. “Fifty per cent of the artists attending would be looking to do walk-ups, and the other 50 per cent would’ve taken bookings,” Mack says. “We’ve got some big name artists who don’t even take bookings and they only take walk-ups.”
Along with exploring the many dimensions of tattoo art, Rites of Passage will feature musical entertainment from session drummer Dan Kirby (Bliss N Eso, Behind Crimson Eyes) and local rap-rock mainstays 28 Days.
“You’ll find a lot of people in the tattoo industry that respond to that style of music,” says Mack. “I think their presence will be really good. The thing with 28 Days is, you could be 20 and enjoy 28 Days and you could also be 40 and enjoy 28 Days. We wanted to supply something that everyone will be able to stand around, have a bit of fun, have a drink and listen to.”
The music affiliation doesn’t end there. Throughout the weekend, MC Eso (one-third of the chart-topping hip hop crew Bliss N Eso) will assume the role of the event host. Despite being a somewhat divisive figure, the organizers felt that Eso’s career path and overall outlook made him a perfect match for Rites of Passage.
“It was a no-brainer to have him as the host,” says Mack. “Bliss n Eso are all about peace, love and unity. Eso does believe in uniting people together, positive change and caring for the planet. All these things tie in with what Rites of Passage is about. Not only does he care about the event, but he appreciates the people that are inspired by his music. We really like everything he’s about.
“He’ll keep people informed of what’s happening and where. We’ll have a meet and greet with Eso. Also, he’s really into his PlayStation and basketball, so we’re doing a ‘versus Eso’ in NBA 2K on PlayStation. We don’t want people to take things too seriously. We’re trying to say, ‘Let’s have a good fucking time and relax.’”
BY AUGUSTUS WELBY
