Tattoo art is reinventing itself as a popular expressive art form in Asia. The first three day Singapore Tattoo Show which concluded on Sunday, featured 8,000 tattoo fans and 120 tattoo artists from 25 countries  marking the resurgence of the art in Asia.

Not only are exotic Asian designs including the phoenix, Chinese calligraphy or Japanese women very popular with western artists, Asian tattoo methods are also being increasingly sought after. Much more painful than the western method of drilling, Asians in Thailand and Borneo use rods and nails to hammer the color into the skin, making a design which gets darker over time.

While significant interest has been generated around getting a tattoo, the industry is yet to mature in Asia. In many parts of Asia, people refrain from getting tattoo’s or get them in places not too exposed in fear of professional or religious reasons.

“In China, if you apply for a job with a tattoo exposed, there is a 80 percent chance the employer isn’t going to accept you,” Lin Jun Hua, a tattoo artist from Shanghai told Reuters, adding tattoos had an image of rebellion. Orthodox Muslims in many Asian countries also do not approve of tattoo’s.

2,000 years ago, tattoo’s were a common form of expression and identity for the indigenous people of Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, China, India and New Zealand. Painted on, tattoo’s represented status symbols and signs of religious beliefs.

Gradually, tattoo’s began to be identified with criminal gangs, however during the last two decades American media, hip-hop music stars and sports icons have helped rejuvenate tattoo culture in Asia.