Tattooing, as an art form as well as a means of social organisation, dates back millennia.
The schools that compose it are as manifold and varied as the styles that have emerged to subsequently enrich the canon. One such style, one of the most iconic, heritage-rich and influential styles, is that of the Western Traditional mode. Famed for privileging bold black outlines and using human skin as an agent of contrast against a small selection of colours, the Trad style is one of the tattoo world’s most decorated and prolific ambassadors, ushering many to the larger discipline of tattooing since it was birthed in the late 1800s. This is why the inaugural Pharaohs Horses Tattoo Invitational is the monumental event that it is.
The first-ever Western Traditional symposium in Singapore will happen from May 24-26 at the Mandala club. Organised by one of the form’s most decorated and sought-after artists in the region Feroze McLeod, owner of the Pharaohs Horses brand and the famed Badabink Tattoo studio, the invitational will see the Mandala Club transform into a veritable shrine for Western Trad, as more than 20 artists from Singapore and the region gather to showcase their distinct approaches to the art from.
The participating tattoo artists all have a close connection to McLeod and were selected based on the richness and eloquence of their art. Some names on the stacked lineup include Singapore’s Wilson Ng (Time Tattoo Co.), Keith Yeo (Lotus Gate), Savin Nair, (Badabink Tattoo), as well as Malaysian stalwart Taco Joe (Wayang Kulit Tatu) and Australian scene-stealers Bradley Waye (Carlisle Tattoo Co) and Aaron Smith (Faith Hope Charity Tattoo).
Besides the panorama of tattoo options within the Western Trad discipline, the invitational also includes a private dining element for special guests and artist-led panels and workshops. This will truly be the site where the foundational traditions of an artistic language will be as celebrated as the heights it will reach in the ages to come.
For more information on the Pharaohs Horses Tattoo invitational, click here.
