In 2002, the Athens Summer Olympics caused a city-wide restoration, boosting the city’s pride and inculcating the belief that a new dawn is coming. Since two-thirds of Greece’s entire population reside in Athens, this zeitgeist is paramount. The emerging respect for personal freedom and acceptance of tattooing is certainly a big step forward. For me, the extraordinary age of the city compared with the seemingly “new” emergence of tattoo art seemed stunning. I was excited see my Athenian friend, an apprentice at local tattoo shop AMAZ-ink, and discuss the situation. But first I had to find her.When first entering the packed convention, I was greeted by Greek shops Tommy Tattoo, Takis-Tsan, and Spartan Tattoos, offering a taste of home town pride. The organizer of the convention was Mike aka The Athens, appropriately. His stand was swamped from beginning to end of the convention. I found him side by side with Neil Ahern and Jondix, both of Spain and all good friends. These three might be said to be sharing a path. Inspired by the relationship of tattoos and spirituality, their work is a tradition of evolution, using Native American symbols, Hindu and Zen figures, and beautifully subtle color. They turn up the volume so that their tattoos scream what the Dalai Lama only whispered: Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Mike’s affinity for tradition was shared by most of the artists at the convention. Two shops over I met Pili Mo’o, a master of the Pelonesian art of tattooing and self-described “last of the kind in Europe”. He uses a round stick about a foot long with a needles on the end to create his tattoos. On the second day of the convention, the spectacle of his art drew a crowd so large I could barely get a glimpse. When asked where he is from, he answered, “the world”, and his demeanor agreed with him. He treated everyone as family. The philosophy behind Pelonesian tattooing is that the tattoo must represent social standing within a community. It is determined and designed by the tattoo artist, not the tattooed, and more is added as the recipient’s social status grows, whether by gaining prestige, wealth, a good job, or a family and kids.I met a little known Greek artist, Payloy Mela, who, tattooing “on a mountain outside of Sparta”, likewise prefers traditional tattooing methods. He uses just a single needle. “My tattoos look like they just came off an unearthed vase,” he remarked. They are also prototypes of the uniquely Greek designs found all over the world, such as the Greek key and the Spartan Warrior. It was very interesting to listen to his ancient philosophies while hardcore-techno blasted from a Red Bull sponsored all-terrain vehicle just a few feet away.
Finally, I found my friend Jenny Skalkos toward the back of the convention with AMAZ-ink shop head, Marios. She’d arrived that morning at nine o’clock, three hours before opening to the public, and before anyone else. With the convention running until midnight each day, it was a long weekend to be an apprentice. “But the inspiration is priceless,” she said, “so many great artists in one place, there is no better way to learn.” When I asked her about Greek tattooing in the past she lay out a complicated picture for me that I could only partially grasp. What I understood was that originally, tattooing had been practice by nomadic Scythian warriors who once inhabited Greece prior to even Socrates and Aristotle. As proof that the long arm of the law cannot reach everywhere, living examples of that tradition can still be found in the northern Píndhos Mountains in Greece. Fittingly, tattoos were later used to brand criminals, and then fell into religious disdain as the Romans, and Christianity, spread across the globe. But the story is much more complicated than that, and no one book has fully pieced it together.As each day came and passed several different contests took place to display the best ink at the convention, whether completely healed or still bleeding. On Saturday, the tattoo work of Paolo Acuna, owner of Divinity Tattoo & Body Piercing, out of Scottsdale, Arizona, won the Best Color Tattoo Contest for a stunning sleeve of pink and orange roses. The winning piece was on his wife. “I’ve only been touched by him”, Annette said. Things were going well for the couple, Paolo was tattooing Ganesha, the Hindu elephant-god, on the hand of a man who’d waited three years for him to come to Athens. “We visited Skiathos before arriving here,” Annette said, “it was amazingly beautiful.” Most everyone from abroad arrived a couple days early or left a few days late, the draw of the lush and hedonistic Greek islands too strong to resist. Since then, Skiathos has been completely evacuated due to the fires.
On Sunday, the last day of the convention, I spoke with Eiland Hogan, of Forever Tattoo in Sacramento, and organizer of All American Tattoo Festival that took place in June. I asked him about his stay in Athens. “We’ve had a wild time. The place next to our hotel was on fire and a shooting took place just around the corner.” I guess he stayed in a section of Athens still awaiting gentrification. “But the people are great here, and food is awesome.” Pili Mo’o came over and they talked like old friends. Soon everyone, the artists and the attendees, were chillin’ and enjoying the last moments of the convention. The talk then shifted to meeting in Spain, meeting in Milan - and eventually came around to more pressing matters, where to hold that night’s party.
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