Talking To: Shanghai Tattoo’s Dylan Byrne

It's an oft-told story. Foreigners come to China and end up pursuing their interests and dreams in ways that they would never have had the time or the opportunities for back home. For many, the results are life-changing. Former bankers end up becoming pastry chefs. Engineers become hoteliers. Accountants become real estate moguls. And while Dylan Byrne's story is certainly similar to countless foreigners in this respect, you'd be hard pressed to find someone whose passions have led him to where he is now. After nine years in China, Byrne has become the part-owner of one of Shanghai's most well-known tattoo parlours. An extended stay in China leaves its mark on most of us, but China has quite literally left its mark on Byrne.

Having a seat with Byrne on the concrete, unfinished fourth-floor patio of Shanghai Tattoo's newest location at the corner of Maoming Nan Lu and Yan'an Zhong Lu, you can see cars flying by on the gaojia just feet in front of you. There's something about the environment that's perfect for talking tattoos. It's gritty, yet still somehow stylish, sitting right in the heart of the city with the skyscrapers of People's Square in view. Byrne talks about his first tattoo, a large tribal piece on his right shoulder. "I got it when I came to China. I was living in Harbin at the time, and it was after a long weekend of drinking, and for whatever reason, it just felt like the right time,” he says. It was soon after getting this tattoo that Byrne began to get more interested in the business, evenutally meeting Ting, the tattoo artist who would become Byrne's business partner and the face of Shanghai Tattoo, visible even on the shop's logo. 

With her dyed green hair and tattoos covering most of her body, Ting is the consumate tattoo artist. However, according to Byrne, she ended up falling into tattooing much like he did. "Ting started off studying art and got into tattooing bit by bit, realizing that she could make a living doing it,” he says. “Finally, she ended up borrowing some money from her family and starting her own shop."

Over the years Ting's skills have developed considerably, particularly in the areas of calligraphy and portraits. Byrne proudly displays two portraits which Ting did on his right forearm, one of Einstein, the other of Darwin. He explains them briefly, not wanting to go into too much detail, saying, "I got them to balance myself out. I've got a lot of religious symbolism on the other arm."