"When I started out tattoos were seen as something for the outcasts and rebels," says Dr Woo (real name Brian Woo), a prominent LA-based tattoo artist with 1.8 million Instagram followers and a high-profile clientele that includes Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Drake. "I come from a very traditional immigrant Asian family, so my parents weren't too buzzed when their son chose this career path." Yet 41-year-old Woo, whose prices begin at $2,500 (£2,066), insists body ink no longer carries the same negative connotations. "I get lawyers, doctors, politicians, kids celebrating their 18th birthdays, grandparents… it's all walks of life coming into my studio," he explains. "There was a time not too long ago where I was the only one in the room with a tattoo, but in 2022 you're looked at funny if you don't have one. Now my parents are okay with this job."

Woo's comments reflect the cultural ubiquity tattoos are currently enjoying. A 2015 YouGov poll suggested one-fifth of British adults had tattoos, while the most recent figures from Ipsos show that 30% of all Americans have at least one on their bodies (a figure that rises to 40% among the under-35s). What once might have been perceived as a subculture more associated with nomadic sailors and biker gangs than the middle classes is now an omnipresent mainstream force and $3bn-a-year industry. It seems to be a rite of passage for the world's biggest pop stars (Post Malone, Billie Eilish) and athletes (LeBron James, Lionel Messi) to have tattoos etched all over their bodies and faces, inspiring fans to do the same. Major fashion houses utilise famous tattooed celebrities to add an edge to their branding (the heavily tatted comedian Pete Davidson is the current global face of H&M); Virgin Atlantic allows staff to proudly show off their sleeves during long-haul flights; and the US army has relaxed historic rules prohibiting visible tattoos on troops, citing "changing social norms" as a reason."It's undeniable how visible tattooing is right now," explains Matt Lodder, a senior lecturer in Art at the University of Essex who specialises in the history of tattoos. "It is a bigger deal culturally than it's ever been."

He continues: "The other day someone sent me an advertising leaflet from the British Post Office, which showed the father of a toddler with a visible full sleeve. There was a time where a relatively conservative organisation like the Post Office doing that would have created a backlash. Now it's accepted as progressive." However, Lodder insists it's important we frame tattoos as a historic "medium" rather than a "phenomenon", with the media often downplaying the artform's heritage by only narrowing in on the buzz of more recent popularity. To truly understand the trajectory of tattoos, he says we must dig deep into the history. "Western tattooing has been a commodity-based art form for only about 140 years," he explains, suggesting that one of the key drivers behind its commercialisation in the UK was King George V, who got a "desirable" tattoo of a dragon on his arm during a trip to Japan as a teenager in 1881. Conversely, though, he adds, "we also have to remember there's physical evidence of tattooing that dates all the way back to 3250 BC."