From teachers to grandmas, growing number of S'poreans are getting them
By
Yen Feng
RECLINING in a chair at the Primitive Art tattoo shop in Far East Plaza, 59-year-old Susie Koh points to the spot on her back where she wants a bushel of sunflowers.
The tattoo will be the ninth for the retired grandmother, who got her first when she was 50.
'I'm an old modern auntie,' she said when The Straits Times visited the tattoo shop recently. 'I want one every year to commemorate every year of my life.'
Once a symbol of trade for burly sailors, tattoos have been through a sea change here, especially in the last decade.
Thanks in large part to the influence of tattoo-sporting stars such as Angelina Jolie, David Beckham and Amy Winehouse, tattoos have become almost mainstream.
A Facebook group in Singapore, called 'Tattoo Artistry', has collected more than 3,200 members since its birth last November.
Although there is no official figure on the number of tattooed Singaporeans, tattoo artists have been getting more customers in recent years - many of whom are working professionals and women.
The influx is what tattoo artist Xu Wen Kai describes as 'an increasing need for Singaporeans to express themselves'.
Mr Xu, who works at Primitive Art, said most of his customers are teenagers, but a growing number are doctors, teachers and grandmothers. He has about 10 to 30 customers a week. A tattoo typically costs $20 or more, depending on the size.
Accountant Nancy Tan was getting her first tattoo - a small butterfly - when this reporter visited Primitive Art on a weekday afternoon. The 34-year-old said she had thought of getting a tattoo since she was a teenager.
'But I was afraid of what people might think. Now, nobody really cares,' she added.
She got her tattoo on her lower back.
The change in attitude about getting tattoos, however, does not suggest that people will not change their minds later.
The National Skin Centre, for example, still sees about 100 to 200 people each year who want their tattoos removed.
The first Singapore Tattoo Show will be held at the Singapore Expo from today to Sunday. The show includes live tattooing performances and trade seminars. It is open to the public from 1pm to 10pm today and tomorrow, and from 11am to 8pm on Sunday.
Tickets, from $18 for a one-day pass, can be bought at the door.
