Formal course aims to bring art of tattooing out of the shadows

Tattooing can be taught like fine art or music, says a local tattooist who plans to roll out a formal course in the craft in Hong Kong and set up a school in England.

Most people know little about what happens inside tattoo studios - how the needles work, what the styles are and what tattoos mean in different communities - and anyone interested in becoming a tattooist has to learn the skills as an apprentice.

It is the mystery that distances the trade from people, says Joey Pang, 30, a tattoo artist at Tattoo Temple in Central. 'Tattooing has been marginalised for long. Education is the only way to make the trade professional ... like fine art and music.'

Chris Anderson, a businessman who is teaming up with Pang to set up the school in England, said most people were not aware that the practice of marking the skin with inks or dye went back as far as 6,000BC in Mesopotamia. Anderson, who was born in Papua New Guinea, said the culture there required a boy to be tattooed to become a man.

However, many Hongkongers associate tattoos - especially patterns with dragons and tigers - with the underworld, mainly because they are symbols of status within triad societies. Pang said this negative image made it hard to rent a studio, and she was questioned about her trade when she applied for a credit card.

Anderson believes that a course could act as a bridge between tattooists and the public and help improve the image. His confidence in education is rooted in his academic background: he has three bachelor's degrees, a master's and a doctorate in psychology.