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If your body is covered in inky pictures of dragons and pin-up girls there was only one place to be this weekend -- 25,000 body art fans surged into East End's Tobacco Dock over three days for the fifth London Tattoo Convention.
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Obviously Asylum couldn't resist the invitation to learn about this ancient art-form, and gawp at hot ladies covered in tats, so we ran on down to the show as soon as we could.

Every style of body modification was on display, from the simplest of star tattoos to implanted dragon horns. (And, in case, you were wondering, drawing stuff on yourself with Biro was not a successful way to integrate a non-tattooed person into the tattoo community.)

Among the delightful procedures being performed by the 220 artists present included traditional Nordic facial tattoos applied with a chisel and hammer, and amazing head-to-toe designs ranging from Japanese dragons to Star Wars characters. (Guess which one we preferred.)

Organisers even made a (small) piece of history by attempting to beat the previous Guinness world record for most people simultaneously tattooed under one roof. The logistical nightmare of beating the record was complicated by the artists being spread throughout Tobacco Dock's labyrinth of catacombs and archways, but provisional totals (yet to be confirmed by Guinness) have London's show beating the old record of 150 by around 28.

Needless to say Asylum was on hand to watch the surgical spirit flow. We've collected the craziest and coolest images we saw in our gallery, below.

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