‘We feel betrayed’: SA tattoo artists lose thousands after Australian Tattoo Expo pulls the plug on Adelaide event

SA tattooists say they have lost crushing sums after the Australian Tattoo Expo’s Adelaide event was postponed due to an ongoing legal battle.

South Australian tattooists have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after the country’s biggest tattoo expo pulled the plug on their Adelaide event at the last minute.

On Monday, exhibitors were notified that Australian Tattoo Expo (ATE) – which was set to debut at the Showgrounds next weekend – had been postponed with organisers unable to process payments due to internal legal issues.

Scripted Souls Tattoo team member Zhaine Reynolds at the Morphett Vale parlour is $4,500 out of pocket. Picture: Ben Clark

After spending almost $20,000 in expenses for the event, the team at Scripted Souls Tattoo in Morphett Vale were left shattered by the news, including apprentice Zhaine Reynolds who is now over $4500 out of pocket.

“We are absolutely devastated, I dare say heartbroken,” he said.

“It was a golden opportunity for a lot of us as it would have been our first real shot at making a name for ourselves and that opportunity was stripped from us.

“We all spent $1500 each on the attendance fees. We had booked hotels, made T-shirts that we were planning to sell, stickers, photo books, pop up banners etc.

“We’re now left with no answers and unsure of whether we can tattoo the designs we spent hours and hours creating.”

With no indication of whether or not they’ll be reimbursed, Mr Reynolds felt “extremely anxious.”

“We feel betrayed, we want closure and our money back. With the cost of living right now it’s extremely demotivating and demoralising being left in the dark like this,” he said.

Zhaine Reynolds, “we feel betrayed, we want closure and our money back.” Picture: Ben Clark

Yet to make an official announcement, organiser CMNN events sent an email to exhibitors informing them that their ongoing legal issues had forced them to postpone their upcoming events in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.

“As one of our valued exhibitors, we prioritise maintaining clear and transparent communication, especially during challenging times like these,” it read.

“As you may know, we are currently involved in an ongoing legal dispute between business partners, which has significantly impacted our ability to operate as usual.

“The courts have imposed certain restrictions, including dual authorisation for financial transactions.

“This situation is beyond the control of our CEO and leadership team. Despite our best efforts, we are unable to accept or process payments at this time.

“Due to this, and the position of our company, we are unable to progress with our Adelaide, Sydney, or Melbourne shows for 2024 and will be postponing these shows.”

Ticket and booth sales for all 2024 events have been paused with sales resuming once new dates are confirmed.

Zhaine Reynolds is upset over the Australian Tattoo Expo cancellation which has left him out of pocket. Picture: Ben Clark

Co-held by The Australian Exhibition Group, the event is the “largest celebration” of tattoo culture in Australia, hosting over 1000 Australian and international tattoo artists each year.

The latest postponement follows that of their Tasmanian event earlier this month, casting doubt on the future of their other event, SXPO Australia in Adelaide, next weekend which has also been postponed, according to Eventbrite.

Many attendees who had already bought their tickets to both events took to social media on Tuesday to express their frustrations.

“Infuriating! Especially across the two branded events!” posted one Facebook user.

“And to think I was going to buy a ticket this week when I got paid! Can’t imagine how pissed off you all would feel after spending this much money,” posted another.

“Once again Adelaide misses out on something that had potential to be really great,” posted a third.

Organisers have been contacted for comment.