The congress center in Epinal welcomed the first tattoo convention the 23rd, 24th and 25th of June 2017. The record temperatures during the week end did not discourage the tattoo fans to discover the set proposed by the convention’s organisers. A dream team that was able to put on a great spread with an international line-up to satisfy more than 5.000 visitors some of whom had traveled far.
First impression while walking in the alleys of the conference center : no doubts that the convention will equal its ambitions. the room is spacious, the tattooists well layed out, the team and volunteers, on the lookout, pamper the artists, all in a friendly atmosphere. We couldn’t ask more of the organisers, two complementary dynamics not unknown in the tattoo scene. Julien Thibers (Clockword Needle, Epinal) associated with Jean-Marc Bassand, the boss of the Belfort Tattoo Family who has fifteen events to his credit including some unmissable tattoo conventions such as Besançon, Lille, Marseille... The latter explains what motivated this partnership : « we saw an increase in various organisations, and it’s totally legitimate that Julien, who developed through out the years such a clientele and such an image of tattooing in his region, is the organiser of his convention in Epinal. » This tattoo artist from the Vosges whose reputation has widely crossed the borders explains : « The tattooists will come to the convention for multiple reasons, either because it’s good for their book and career, either because they’re attracted to the region. The Vosges isn’t originally an area where tourist go, so you need to motivate people to come with a quality artist line up and a good reception for example. »
The set and the reception are what seems to be the sinews of wars at the Epinal convention. Julien Thibers got inspired by his own experience in conventions he did all around the world : « I wanted to make a convention where i’d want to go as an artist, from my experience abroad, there’s a lot of good ideas a bit everywhere. »
The canadiens including Alex Dupuis (Five Points, Trois-Rivières, QC) and Jay Marceau (Enlight, Québec) came especially for the event and the previously unseen presence of the five Slovak tattooists crew in France, the greeks of Tattooligans or even the Romanian John Maxx doesn’t go unnoticed.
We evaluate at the first round of the stands that the level is well above our expectations, and the french side isn’t quiet : AlixGe, Manu Durand, Diego Moraes, Matthieu Varga, Seven Echek, Teodor Milev. The first best of day will reward a collaboration between Eliot Kohek and Michael Taguet.
One of the special features of the convention ? The prominence to realism. If all the styles are present in the books and take life under the needles of the 150 artists inking at the convention, the predominance is very clear. The network carried by Julien Thibers behind the stands, in which he’s also a reference in realism, certainly isn’t for nothing. Such visibility is frequent in foreign conventions but stays occasional in France. Realism tattoo came across quietly through out the ages but within a small decade a technical and artistic explosion, widely injected by the eastern Europe, leaves us today with numerous traces around the world. Wether you like the style or not, the high quality work made by the virtuosos of this style, in which some were at Epinal this week end, is simply impressive today and won’t cease to develop, while a few years back it was thought that the style had reached its peak.
On the animation side, no reason to get bored : demonstration and exhibition of the artist Sylvain Loisant ; a photo seminar by Dominique Pichard (P-Mod). The heart of the shows are rhythmed by the Woodmen Skateboarding association who took on the challenge of setting up a ramp in 24 hours to allow the riders to do some skate and BMX demonstrations all week end. The planks of the stage were mistreated by the blazing shows of the Performance Girls and the powerful sound of four bands, including the melodic hardcore band from Paris, Ianwill.
The convention ends with the auction sale of custom Skateboards and DC shoes made by the artists of the convention which will gather 3.635 euros for the « Crins Blancs » association and the latest contestants. A reference artist who you don’t often meet in conventions and whose talent isn’t unknown did his mic drop : The best of show will leave in the hands of Henrik Grysbjerg for a chest piece made in two days.
If we can indicate a stabilisation or even a decrease in visitor numbers attending tattoo conventions considering the quantity of such events offered in France, the organisers knew how to unite the vital ingredients for a successful convention. With no false modesty, Jean-Marc is astonished : « Conventions in which the foundations are very solid, which exists for a long time and with a hard shell are conceivable conventions that can only work. It gains the public’s trust and with someone such as Julien who commits his image and credibility, we could only hope for a successful first edition ». First level approved, a second edition is already announced for 2018, enthusiasm and emulation on social networks around this first edition : a good futur seems promised for the convention and the image of Epinal benefited from a particular class of visitors that weekend. www.epinal-tattoo-show.com Translation Rames
