Wim Delvoye is a notorious tattoo artist, who became famous when he started tattooing live pigs. He first began in 1997 and after animal rights activists found out about what he was doing, he had to move to China to continue his business. There is nothing special about the tattoos that Wim Delvoye creates, they look mediocre at best, and the only reason why he’s famous is his acts of animal cruelty. Nevertheless, Wim states that the pigs feel just fine and are well fed and taken care off. Full anesthesia is used to ensure that the pig doesn’t feel pain during the course of the whole procedure. During this time three tattoo artists work on the tattoo simultaneously to complete it as quickly as possible. Skins of those pigs are then sold for as much as £50k a piece.

American photographer Austin Tott created the series ‘Tiny Tattoos’ that matches miniature hand-drawn tattoos with the backgrounds from which they draw visual reference. A small bicycle is placed in its urban environment, little trees and envelopes find their bigger brothers and a tiny fox is put in the context of wooden logs.

A tattoo artist applying ink on a girl' s arm during the 2017 Moscow Tattoo Festival at Moscow' s Amber Plaza Shopping Center in Moscow, Russia on April 1, 2017. Tattoo artists from all over the world take part in the event. The festival' s program includes a tattoo contest, body taping art marathon, masterclasses, round table discussions and conferences. (Photo by Valery Sharifulin/TASS)

A client reacts as she is tattooed during the Tattoo Week SP 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 23, 2016. (Photo by Paulo Whitaker/Reuters)

A woman smiles as she gets a new tattoo during Rio Tattoo Week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, January 16, 2015. Tattoo artists from Brazil and around the world gathered for the annual three day convention. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Tattoo enthusiast Lauren Brock poses to display her body art work during the International London Tattoo Convention in east London, Britain September 26, 2015. (Photo by Neil Hall/Reuters)

For more than 2,000 years, women from the Baiga tribe in the highland district of Dindori, in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state, have been tattooed. Sumintra, 25, from Bona village, has the markings across her forehead, legs and arms. The women who work as tattoo artists are knowledgable about the different types of designs and pigments preferred by various tribes, and their meanings are passed to them by their mothers. The tattooing ‘season’ begins with the approach of winter. (Photo by Ronny Sen/WaterAid/The Guardian)

Tattoo artists and body art fans from across the globe have descended on London for one of the biggest and most prestigious tattoo conventions. “This is like the Premier League of tattoo artists from all over the world who come here to show their work”, organiser Marcus Beriman said. Photo: Bugz Bonniie displays some of her tattoos. (Photo by Oli Scarff)