{"id":114912,"date":"2023-12-06T09:46:46","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T14:46:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=114912"},"modified":"2023-12-06T09:46:46","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T14:46:46","slug":"ink-me-up-iran-tattoo-artists-aim-to-leave-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2023\/12\/06\/ink-me-up-iran-tattoo-artists-aim-to-leave-mark\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Ink Me Up’: Iran Tattoo Artists Aim to Leave Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"VOA \u2014 TEHRAN, IRAN \u2014 <\/span>Within a flat in northern Tehran, concealed from the public eye, Sean proudly showcases the tattoo motifs crafted by his students, each meticulously etched onto silicon canvases.<\/p>\n

The 34-year-old opened the studio only eight months ago, aspiring to share the art of tattooing that over the years has largely thrived underground in the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n

“All tattoo artists in Iran usually work at home,” Sean, using his artistic nickname, told AFP in his studio.<\/p>\n

“We risked a lot this year by opening this place and turning it into an academy.”<\/p>\n

While Iran has not explicitly banned tattooing, conservatives still view the practice as linked with immorality, delinquency and Westernization.<\/p>\n

Yet tattoos have gained popularity in recent years in the country, with many young people proudly displaying their ink in public.<\/p>\n

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A customer looks through designs at a tattoo studio in Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 7 2023.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Seeing the growing trend, Sean opened other studios in the southeastern city of Kerman and the resort island of Kish.<\/p>\n

Now, he has more than 30 students eager to learn the craft, which he describes as a “bottomless art.”<\/p>\n

“All sorts of people now are doing tattoos,” said Sean, who has been a tattoo artist for 17 years.<\/p>\n

In the past, he said, “People wanted something small, simple, that no one can see.”<\/p>\n

“But now they’re saying ‘Ink me up.'”<\/p>\n

‘Satanic and obscene symbols’<\/strong><\/p>\n

In recent years, some Shiite scholars in Iran have declared that tattoos are not forbidden under Islamic law.<\/p>\n

“Tattooing is not forbidden, provided that it does not promote non-Islamic culture,” according to the website of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n

Despite the growing acceptance, there are still some in Iran who frown upon the practice.<\/p>\n

\n
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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>
A tattoo artist traces a design on a customer at a tattoo studio in Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 7, 2023.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In September last year, Iran’s volleyball federation said players must cover any tattoos or risk being barred from taking part in the 2022-2023 season.
\nSeveral prominent football players faced summons to Iran’s sports morality committee in recent years for displaying their tattoos.<\/p>\n

In 2019, a Tehran police official said having “visible and unconventional tattoos” may require individuals to undergo a “psychological examination” before obtaining a driver’s license.<\/p>\n

Others faced arrest, including in 2016, when authorities rounded up a “tattoo gang” for allegedly tattooing “satanic and obscene symbols” on people, as reported by the Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n

Benyamin, a 27-year-old cafe owner, says some people often perceive him as a criminal because of the tattoos covering his torso and back.<\/p>\n

“Tattoos are not a crime on their own, but you will be stigmatized as a thug, should something happen,” like being arrested, he added.<\/p>\n

Sean says he is aware of the conservative societal and cultural perceptions in Iran, aspects he has conscientiously addressed within his studios.<\/p>\n

“Women [artists] do tattoos for women, men [artists] do tattoos for men,” he said.<\/p>\n

‘Woman, life, freedom’<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Iran, women with tattoos face more intense scrutiny than their male counterparts, compelled to adhere to a stringent dress code that mandates covering their heads and necks.<\/p>\n

Some even see it as an act of defiance.<\/p>\n

In Tehran, numerous tattoo studios showcased designs featuring the slogan “Woman, life, freedom” \u2014 a rallying cry during nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody last year of Mahsa Amini.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>
A student training to be a tattoo artist practices on a silicon canvas at a studio in Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 7 2023.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

A 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Amini had been arrested in September 2022 for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
\nOthers only see tattoos as a form of self-expression.<\/p>\n

“I like tattoos a lot and I wanted to express my thoughts that way,” said Sahar, a 26-year-old nurse who has a tattoo on her arm reading “do not be afraid of anything” in Arabic.<\/p>\n

But she acknowledged that having tattoos “is likely [to cause problems], especially if you want to work in the public sector.”<\/p>\n

Undeterred by the challenges, Kuro, a 24-year-old student at the studio, remains steadfast in her determination to practice her craft.<\/p>\n

“Now people are generally more supportive,” she said after touching up a koi fish design etched on a silicon sheet.<\/p>\n

She hopes that “as a woman tattoo artist, I will be able to work without restrictions.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOA \u2014 TEHRAN, IRAN \u2014 Within a flat in northern Tehran, concealed from the public eye, Sean proudly showcases the tattoo motifs crafted by his students, each meticulously etched onto silicon canvases. The 34-year-old opened the studio only eight months ago, aspiring to share the art of tattooing that over the years has largely thrived […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114913,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["fa","en"],"languages":{"fa":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114912"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114915,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114912\/revisions\/114915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}