![Sean, the owner of a tattoo studio in Iran’s capital, Tehran, where he teaches aspiring tattooists as well as inking clients. Photo: AFP 336179b7 44ac 44b9 afff 0beb18871515 b0f2c1b7](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/04/336179b7-44ac-44b9-afff-0beb18871515_b0f2c1b7.jpg)
Seeing the growing trend, Sean opened other studios in the southeastern city of Kerman and on the resort island of Kish.
Now, he has more than 30 students eager to learn the craft, which he describes as a “bottomless art.”
“All sorts of people now are doing tattoos,” said Sean, who has been a tattoo artist for 17 years.
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In the past, he said, “People wanted something small, simple, that no one can see, but now they’re saying, ‘Ink me up.'”
“Tattooing is not forbidden, provided that it does not promote non-Islamic culture,” according to the website of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
![A tattoo artist works on a customer at a tattoo studio in Tehran. Photo: AFP 87723f24 cbb0 4726 8c86 1be27b1857a0 0951a840](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/04/87723f24-cbb0-4726-8c86-1be27b1857a0_0951a840.jpg)
Despite the growing acceptance, some in Iran still frown upon the practice.
In September last year, Iran’s volleyball federation said players must cover any tattoos or risk being barred from participating in the 2022-2023 season.
Iran’s sports morality committee has recently summoned several prominent football players to display their tattoos.
In 2019, a Tehran police official said having “visible and unconventional tattoos” may require individuals to undergo a “psychological examination” before obtaining a driving license.
![A customer looks through designs at a tattoo studio in Tehran. In Iran, women with tattoos face more intense scrutiny than their male counterparts. Photo: AFP 48770c25 27c8 400c af2c 003307c8200c c7092b25](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/04/48770c25-27c8-400c-af2c-003307c8200c_c7092b25.jpg)
Others faced arrest, including in 2016 when authorities rounded up a “tattoo gang” for allegedly tattooing “satanic and obscene symbols” on people, as reported by the Tasnim news agency.
“Tattoos are not a crime on their own, but you will be stigmatized as a thug should something happen,” like being arrested, he added.
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Sean says he is aware of Iran’s conservative societal and cultural perceptions, aspects he has conscientiously addressed within his studios.
“Women [artists] do tattoos for women, men [artists] do tattoos for men,” he said.
In Iran, women with tattoos face more intense scrutiny than their male counterparts, forced to adhere to a stringent dress code that mandates covering their heads and necks.
Some see having tattoos as an act of defiance.
![A display at a tattoo studio in Tehran. Photo: AFP 7ebb5a00 dc21 48a5 9568 b66ac797b820 c3400539](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/04/7ebb5a00-dc21-48a5-9568-b66ac797b820_c3400539.jpg)
A 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, Amini, had been arrested in September 2022 for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Others only see tattoos as a form of self-expression.
“I like tattoos a lot, and I wanted to express my thoughts that way,” says Sahar, a 26-year-old nurse with a tattoo on her arm reading “Do not be afraid of anything” in Arabic.
![A tattoo artist traces a design on a customer at a tattoo studio. Photo: AFP bf081a66 ee11 49e5 b949 fe4509fa8888 1776106c](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/04/bf081a66-ee11-49e5-b949-fe4509fa8888_1776106c.jpg)
But she acknowledges that having tattoos “is likely [to cause problems], especially if you want to work in the public sector.”
Undeterred by the challenges, Kuro, a 24-year-old student at the studio, remains steadfast in her determination to practice her craft.
“Now people are generally more supportive,” she said after touching a Koi fish design etched on a silicon sheet.
She hopes that “as a woman tattoo artist, I can work without restrictions.”