Starcrossed Tattoo

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The tattoo industry in Hong Kong kickstarted during the colonial era, when navy ships would dock by the masses in Victoria Harbour. Thousands of sailors would get inked on these foreign shores and then set sail again with their custom pieces. Tattoo legends like Jimmy Ho, whose father was one of the first tattoo artists in Hong Kong, are still tattooing today. Even though there is a relatively long history of tattooing in Hong Kong, it is only in the recent years that this city has seen vast expansion and diversification in the industry.

香港的文身行業可追溯到殖民時代，那時候大量的軍艦停靠在維多利亞港，成千上萬的水手都會在這異國的海岸上嘗試文身，然後帶著屬於自己特有的印記再次揚帆起航。像何惠民這樣的文身界傳奇們，一直到今天仍從事這個行業，其實他的父親就是香港第一批文身師。雖然文身行業的發展在香港有著相對長久的歷史，但也僅僅是在近些年，文身才在這裡有了快速和多樣化的發展。

Over the last three years, Hong Kong has held a Tattoo Convention annually in September. The convention has been one of the main driving forces behind the recent boom in Hong Kong tattoo culture. The convention gathers visiting artists and exposes the general public to the art form in new and innovative ways. The media has also played an integral role in this development. Shows like LA Ink have created a ripple effect throughout the world, even reaching the distant shores of Hong Kong. It is things like this that are taking tattooing from being something that was previously a bit lowbrow or taboo, and transforming it into a mainstream and sellable art form.

在過去三年裡的每年九月，香港都會舉辦國際文身大會。這個盛會成為了近年來不斷促進香港文身文化繁榮發展的一大動力。大會吸引了眾多文身藝術家的到訪，並以一種全新的方式向公眾展示這一種藝術形式。媒體的參與，也在這個發展過程中發揮了必不可少的作用。像《LA Ink》這樣的電視節目，在世界範圍內如漣漪擴散一般傳播來，甚至得以激盪到香港這般遙遠的海岸。正是由於這些多方的努力，文身才從曾經帶著低俗或禁忌的標籤逐步轉變為主流和走俏的藝術形式。

Hong Kong will always be a dynamic community as it continues to be one of the world’s most transient international cities. Tourists, short-term contracts, cruise ships and mini stopovers all promote a random flux of diversity into the tattoo market. Rich Phipson, co-owner of Starcrossed Tattoo, said that it is due to this that their shop doesn’t have a particular client base. They indulge a very wide variety of customers from all over the world. It goes without saying though that Starcossed Tattoo has a large group of regular clients who have a particular preference regarding the artist they use.

作為一個移民性的世界都市，香港社會永遠充滿了流動性。旅客、短期工、遊輪和小型中轉遊船……所有這些都為這裡的文身市場增添了一種隨機的多樣性。文身店Starcrossed Tattoo的老闆之一Rich Phipson表示，他們的文身店沒有特定的顧客群，取而代之的是來自世界各地各種各樣的人群。自不必多說，Starcossed擁有龐大的常規客戶群，這些顧客對文身師都有自己的偏好。

Starcrossed currently has four artists: Ross Turpin and Rich Phipson from South Africa, who own the shop; Jack from Hong Kong; and Michael, who has been an apprentice for a couple years and is now tattooing clients. Each of the tattoo artists has his own unique visual style but a unifying quality in their work is their bold use of colour.

Starcrossed目前有四個文身師：來自南非的兩位店主——Ross Turpin和Rich Phipson；香港的Jack，以及經過幾年學徒生涯，如今已成正式文身師的Michael。他們每個人都有自己的文身風格，不過這幾人有個相同點就是他們在用色上都非常大膽出色。

In current society – and especially in a place as diverse and vibrant as Hong Kong, people have the freedom to construct their own sense of self. Identity is less likely to be wrapped up in things like one’s profession, social status, or race. Freedom of expression and tattoos contribute to the creative composition of the modern day individuals’ identity.

在當今社會，尤其是像香港這樣多元和充滿活力的地方，人們都可以自由地進行自我意識構建。每個人的身份構建不再完全由職業、社會地位或者種族等因素所決定。個人表達和文身的自由，都有助於當代人群創造屬於自己的個體身份特徵。